Don’t Stretch Formula

Posted Dec 2, 2008 by Mary Shedden

Updated Dec 2, 2008 at 09:42 AM

A Tampa mother struggling to make ends meet learned a horrible lesson this past weekend. Watering down infant formula can be dangerous - even deadly - for your baby.

Jeri Moss’s terryifying ordeal ended with her 5-month-old son rushed to University Community Hospital. Young La’Damiean Barton is expected to recover from what doctors call water intoxication. This sends a loud, loud warning to parents who think stretching formula past what the instructions on the can say. This news comes at a time when many are finding it hard to afford basics. And government programs may not offer enough help.

You may not have a baby - or may not think mixing formula can be dangerous. Still, here’s some advice from the Mayo Clinic about taking the safest approach to feeding your infant with formula:

When using liquid concentrate or powdered formula, you’ll also need to add water to the bottle. Consider using sterile water:

If you’re using tap water, use cold water.

If you haven’t used a faucet for more than six hours, let the cold water run for as long as it takes to get as cold as it gets — up to two minutes — to help reduce the amount of lead and other contaminants.

Pour the cold water into a clean pan and boil it for one to two minutes. Boiling water from a local water utility may not be necessary, but it can be helpful if you use private well water, for example.

Let the water cool.

If you’re using bottled water, also consider boiling it for one to two minutes and then let it cool.

See the instructions on the can for how much water to mix with the formula. Adding too much water may overly dilute the formula — meaning that your baby doesn’t get enough calories and nutrients. Adding too little water can put a burden on your baby’s digestive system.

Before you feed your baby, shake the bottle well.