There aren’t enough resources for formula-feeding parents. Here’s why that needs to change.

But when she turned to Google for some general resources and support, she said what little she could find was cloaked in discouragement against formula-feeding. Barston felt adrift.

“All the classes I had taken were preparing me for breastfeeding. I couldn’t find practical information about formula, like how often I should be feeding or are there better ways to hold your baby when you’re feeding a bottle,” she said. “I also couldn’t find any emotional support because all the Mommy and Me classes I went to, I was the only one pulling out a bottle.”

Many parents still struggle to find help once they make the decision to formula-feed. While breastfeeding parents have multiple resources available from the cottage industry that has exploded in recent years, including home visits from lactation consultants, hospital-sponsored breastfeeding classes, even government websites filled with videos and information aimed at making breastfeeding easier, formula-feeding parents often feel as if there is nowhere for them to turn.

“The number one concern is the guilt and shame … looking for support over the guilt and getting over the guilt,” Drover said. “A close second is genuine usage questions. What types of formula, intolerances to formula, how to store it, literally instructions on how to use it.”

While, on the surface, formula-feeding appears straightforward, with instructions clearly printed on the side of the can, Drover said when parents hit a snag there is little support.

She gave the example of traveling with a formula-fed baby.

“Do you take pre-boiled water in bottles? Should you just get ready-to-feed? How do you keep bottles sterile for long plane rides?” All of these questions, Drover said, fall outside basic instructional materials.

“The information is really not there,” she added. “You really have to dig for it. If it were that easily available we wouldn’t have people seeking out the group, applying to enter, and then asking the questions.”

When overwhelmed, sleep-deprived new parents turn to search engines, they have to slog through results that often offer conflicting advice, are limited to general guidance, or are unvetted personal blogs.

“Even if this information is readily available in terms of multiple search results, you get different information from the World Health Organization than you do from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and so forth,” Barston said. “Some sources tell you to use boiling water to mix formula and others don’t. Also, the last thing we should be asking of parents in the early days of parenthood is that they Google information in order to feed their babies safely.”

Two years ago, with my formula-fed newborn, I found myself in that exact scenario, frantically searching the Web as my daughter screamed through every feeding. In a fit of desperation, my husband noticed the 1-800 number on the side of the Similac formula tub, and we called it, hoping it might work like the Butterball Turkey hotline.

Similac has operated its feeding hotline since 2010 and interacts with thousands of consumers across phone, email, social media and chat, according to Brandi Martin, a spokesperson for Abbott, the company that makes Similac. Similar to what Drover sees, the most frequently asked questions are about the basics, including how to prepare a bottle, the correct temperature of water for mixing, how long formula stays good after mixing, the difference between types of formula — such as ready-to-feed vs. powder — and what to do if a baby is fussy, gassy or spitting up, Martin said in an email.

When we called, our operator suggested going up a nipple size, advice that both solved our problem and shocked me at how difficult it had been to uncover. Despite the online searches, trips to the pediatrician, and a six-hour-long Preparing for Baby class, I had never come across the fact that there were different nipple sizes that affected the flow rate of bottles.

“Most of us sit through hours of baby and prenatal classes teaching us the ‘right’ way to give birth and breastfeed, but there is little to no information given in these classes on formula-feeding,” Barston said. “Parents [can] leave the hospital with no trusted sources of information.”

Sarah Christopherson, policy advocacy director at National Women’s Health Network, who has written about her own struggles with formula-feeding, agreed.

“There is no reason why HHS can’t have clear, multilingual resources, videos, how-to guides, for formula-feeding parents exactly as they do for breastfeeding parents. I mean, that would be one of the easiest possible fixes,” Christopherson said.

Beyond that, Christopherson said many well-meaning public health initiatives have unforeseen consequences for women who formula-feed. She pointed to WIC, the supplemental nutrition program for women and infants, which allots more food to mothers who breastfeed than those who don’t.

Barston says things have gotten better for formula-feeders since she gave birth, but there is still a long way to go in terms of bridging the gap and making sure all parents are able to easily find and access clear information on the many ways to feed an infant.

“Nowadays, the difference is that you can find formula-feeding support online,” she said. “But that isn’t enough. You need real-life support, just like breastfeeding parents.”

Elizabeth Skoski is a freelance writer living in Irvington, N.Y. Find her on Twitter @LizSkoski.

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