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Dec 3, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Dangers Of Diluting Baby Formula
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
In health, a growing number of parents are skimping on baby formula -- not able to afford to properly feed their infants. Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl explains why diluting formula is so dangerous.
5-month-old La'Damian Barton was so malnourished that he stopped breathing, he had a seizure and nearly died.
His cash-strapped mother had been watering down his baby formula.
"If I would have know it was harmful, I would have never done it," mom Jeri Moss said.
La'Damian was not getting enough nutrients and was diagnosed with water intoxication.
His mom says she didn't know it was so risky to use less powdered formula and more water.
"It dilutes the electrolytes in the formula and the electrolytes are salts and sugars and when you do that, you can actually disrupt the balance in the formula and the balance in the patient's body as well," Dr. April Douglass-Bright said.
Dr. Douglass-Bright, a pediatrician at Cooper University Hospital, says a surprising number of people don't realize how dangerous too much water can be for babies.
And now, because of economic worries, doctors are seeing more cases of formula being diluted.
La'Damian seems OK now, but is at risk for mental disabilities and seizures.
His mom says she could not get enough formula from the federal Women, Infants and Children Program known as WIC.
"They give you a certain amount, but it doesn't last," mom Kathleen Quann said.
Quann, who lives in Camden and is also on the WIC program, says she had to work more to afford enough formula.
"I was more concerned about his health, that's honestly why I didn't water it down," Kathleen said.
A government spokesperson says there are a number of resources for people and concealing to make sure that all babies get the nutrition they need.
RELATED LINKS:
About WIC
How To Find Free Baby Formula
Hey, What's To Eat?
American Academy of Pediatrics
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