Many of the babies that I work with were given formula in the hospital. It
is in the little 2 oz volufeeds.  The babies are usually sent home with a
few of these containers.

However mothers are given no instructions on formula preparation.  I have a
client who noted that the bottles at/from the hospital were not
refrigerated so when she bought some ready to feed formula she poured it
into the volufeeds and let them sit out.

She called me to say that her baby was throwing up his feeds and that the
formula was "lumpy" and clogging the tube.  I asked if she was using the
powdered product and she said that it was ready to feed.

We talked further about the lumpy consistency.  She said that the first
time that she used it from this can it was ok, but now it is lumpy. I asked
if it was lumpy before heating and she told me that she didn't have to heat
it because she hadn't refrigerated it. (!) I asked what it said on the can
and she said that on top of the can it didn't say to refrigerate it, but as
she read from the side of the can it said "Refrigerate and use within 48
hours." She had not seen this earlier.

This woman is a college graduate and seems to have a reasoning capacity.
But she is newly postpartum and is stuggling with her milk supply and
obviously not thinking clearly.

Since she was giving the same formula that the hospital was using and they
didn't refrigerate theirs, she assumed that it didn't need to be refrigerated.

Most people believe that everyone knows how to prepare infant formula but
such is not the case.  I have had clients who purchased concentrated
product and gave it to the baby as is.

This little one is ok now and Mom's milk supply is increasing and should be
adequate for him soon.

Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin


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