SANTA CLARA, Calif. - San Francisco Bay Area mothers say they're feeling the effects of the baby formula shortage.During a round table Thursday in Santa Clara, one new mother told Congressman Ro Khanna (D-San Jose) that she has driven all over the South Bay to find formula for her 2-month-old son."It's been really scary," said Claire Lesikar, an attorney in Palo Alto. "My son, being two months old, he can only eat formula.
I can't make something else for him. It's really disconcerting."She said she spent several days to find extra formula at stories throughout the region and stockpiled a bunch of it.But she says if the shortage continues for much longer, she doesn't know what she'll do.
And Lesikar has it better than most. As parents across the United States struggle to find formula to feed their children, the pain is particularly acute among Black and Hispanic women.
Black women have historically faced obstacles to breastfeeding, including a lack of lactation support in the hospital, more pressure to formula feed and cultural roadblocks.