20 | JUNE 2 • 2022
“
At first, Chava didn’t like the Kate
Farms, but I was insistent — there was no
choice — and, thankfully, after a few days
with a hungry belly, she started to drink it,
”
Goldner said.
Another concern is the financial aspect.
Unfortunately, WIC has not been covering
the Kate Farms for the Goldners (although
they did pay for Chava’s previous formula)
and their insurance company denied
formula coverage.
Goldner is in a few support groups for
parents of kids with medical conditions
and she related how many parents have
struggled with this nightmare for months
now.
“There are even babies who have had to
be hospitalized because there was just no
nutrition available that they could tolerate,
”
Goldner said. “It’s unbelievable. This whole
situation is so overwhelming. When a child
has medical challenges and has a difficult
time with growth and eating, the last thing
the parents need is having little to nothing
to feed their kid. We worry 24/7 already,
we’re already dealing with appointments,
tests, diagnoses … and now there’s the fight
to find formula on top of everything, the
fight to find people to help and finding the
financial means to make it all happen.
”
Despite the major struggles, Goldner
said she knows she is fortunate that
at Chava’s age, the formula is only
supplemental, that she tolerated the switch
well and that Kate Farms is more available
than other brands.
NEW MOMS ARE FEARFUL
It’s also heartbreaking to think of new
moms who are struggling to find formula
to feed their newborns. Rachel Moss of
West Bloomfield first heard of the formula
shortage a few months ago when she was
expecting her second baby and instantly
started worrying.
“This is so nerve-wracking, an additional
stress for new parents about how to feed
their children,
” Moss said.
Every time she went shopping while she
was pregnant, she checked the store shelves
and bought some cans of formula just in
case.
“
A few weeks ago, there was still some
formula on store shelves,
” said Moss, who
gave birth to her son Tyler on May 16.
“Now there’s nothing. I have a supply for a
couple of weeks, and my pediatrician has
been as helpful as he can, but I don’t know
what’s going to happen when this formula
is finished. It’s so stressful.
”
Moss said the Jewish organizations have
been helpful, and she heard that some are
about to roll out initiatives to help formula-
strapped moms.
Goldner pinpointed JFS, Detroit Chesed
Project and Yad Ezra as having been
particularly sympathetic and helpful.
Schmier said that another source of
support has been the 3.5K member-strong
Free Exchange for Jewish Women of
Metro Detroit Facebook page, which has
essentially become a formula exchange
with people posting where they saw
formula and if they have any to donate.
Schmier said she’s found some through that
page and is always running around Metro
Detroit, picking up formula donations
from random places.
“It’s literally a wild goose chase,
” Schmier
said. “When someone posts that they saw
formula on the shelves at CVS, Walgreens,
Costco, wherever, I jump in my car and
run there. I’m fortunate that I work from
home and have that flexibility.
”
Some moms have also generously offered
their breast milk, but that can be somewhat
of a sore point with some formula-feeding
moms.
Goldner said, “I nursed Chava for her
first six months, but she wound up in
the hospital. She kept vomiting and was
then diagnosed with failure to thrive, so
we made the hard decision at that time to
switch her to formula.
”
For Goldner, breast milk is not the
answer and she said she feels “mom
shamed” when other moms say things like
“if you would just breastfeed, you wouldn’t
have this issue.
”
Despite the challenges and the heartache,
Goldner said she still feels tremendous
gratitude.
“It’s the goodness of people that have
helped me … The moms in my support
groups who have given us free formula
… The moms who drove to Cincinnati
and back to buy formula and took no
reimbursement for gas! Daniella HarPaz
at Yad Ezra, Channie Goldstein at Detroit
Chesed Project, the nutritionist at WIC
who went over recipes and ideas of how
to help get us through this … our
pediatrician who makes weekly calls to
check on us,
” Goldner said.
“I’m religious, and I took my needs to
a Higher Power, but it’s clear to me that
my answers came from the goodness and
caring of others. I’m so grateful to God and
to these kind people.
”
continued from page 19
OUR COMMUNITY
Shayna
Goldner with
her daughter
Chava