CINCINNATI — Can't find baby formula? Many new moms are reaching out on social media for help and ideas.

But pediatricians are warning about some solutions that are no solution, and could even be dangerous to babies in some cases.

First-time mother Danielle Flory didn't expect to bring home her baby with no formula to feed her.

Her daughter was born premature and requires a specific kind of formula, that she is now struggling to find.

"I'm afraid this is going to stunt her growth," Flory said, "and that she's not gonna gain weight like she should."

Thousands of moms like her are searching for baby formula, and turning to questionable and dangerous solutions in some cases.

So doctors across the country are now urging parents to think twice before trying three solutions.

Making your own formula

Social media is now ablaze with formula alternatives you can make at home, including links to some old recipes from the 1940's and 1950's, that your grandmother may have used.

But doctors are warning about these recipes.

Pediatrician Dr. Scott Dattel told our Scripps sister station KSHB that it's all about the nutrients babies need, and says homemade formulas don't supply the proper amount.

Worse, doctors say homemade formula can also contain harmful bacteria, sugars, and other ingredients that new babies should not have.

"For people to do home recipes and home concoctions, it's dangerous to say the least," he said.

What about the fact it comes from the "good old days?"

It is worth remembering that in the 1950's parents washed their babies with hexachlorophene soap, now considered toxic for infants, and in the 1970's expectant moms often took Bendectin, which was discontinued after being blamed for hundreds of birth defects.

Buying formula from Canada

Another claim making the rounds on Facebook right now says if you need formula, you can find it in Canada, and can simply purchase it from Amazon's Canadian website

Indeed, you will find more formula for sale in Canada, where the shortage is not as bad. But there is a problem with that too.

According to the women's blog Totally The Bomb.com, you will get an error code if you try to order directly from Amazon Canada, once you put in a US address.

Amazon.ca redirects you to the American Amazon site, where that formula will no longer be available.

Meantime, you may find formula for sale at Canadian pharmacies, but beware shipping costs as high as $50 a container.

Buying formula on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist

Finally, be on the lookout for social media formula scams. Make sure the seller is local, and that you can meet them and see what they are selling.

It could be expired formula, open containers of formula, or nothing at all.

Kentucky mom Elizabeth Snyder paid $50 via a money transfer app for formula she found on Facebook Marketplace.

"The seller said I can send them to you," Snyder told our sister station WLEX. "She sent me a photo of 14 cans of formula on her shelf, otherwise I would have thought it was sketchy. "

But the formula never showed up, and her $50 was gone.

"Who does that to a mother?" Snyder asked.

Desperate for formula? Talk to your pediatrician, who may have some samples, connections to a new supply, or other ideas that can work, so you don't waste your money.

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CINCINNATI —

The struggle is real for local families trying to feed their babies. Now scammers are preying on them online like Facebook and Craigslist, to try and trick families into buying formula and not receiving it.

Carol Claussen is a stay-at-home mother of three, most recently NICU twins. Staying away from scammers she spends her time searching store by store for baby formula.

"I put those orders in and loaded up my two babies and my 3-year-old and we went driving around and picked up this formula," Claussen said. “We spent the better part of our morning and afternoon just driving around the city and picking up formula."

Three hours, driving more than 70 miles and more than five stores. The twins are on a special formula for prematurity that takes more calories than regular store formula. The formula shortages now spilling over into non-similac brands.

“While that formula was not affected by the recall it was very hard to find. So we switched to just plain store brand formulas shouldn’t be anything difficult to find — but it is," she said.

Claussen normally goes through a tub and a half of formula in one feeding day. Now one tub must last two days for the twins.

“Obviously I don’t want to see the other moms struggling but it is so nice that when the world is going crazy that we as moms are coming together and really fighting for each other," Claussen said.

Abbott Nutrition has restarted production at the Michigan baby formula factory that has been closed for months due to contamination, the company said Saturday, taking a step toward easing a nationwide supply shortage expected to persist into the summer.

The February shutdown of the largest formula factory in the country led to the supply problems that have forced some parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor's offices.

Video above: Get the Facts: Baby Formula Shortage

Abbott said it initially will prioritize production of its EleCare specialty formulas for infants with severe food allergies and digestive problems who have few other options for nutrition. The company said it will take about three weeks before new formula from the plant begins showing up on store shelves.

"We will ramp production as quickly as we can while meeting all requirements," Abbott said in a statement.

The plant's reopening is one of several federal actions that are expected to improve supplies in the weeks ahead. President Joe Biden's administration has eased import rules for foreign manufacturers, airlifted formula from Europe and invoked federal emergency rules to prioritize U.S. production.

Abbott closed the Sturgis, Michigan, factory in February after the Food and Drug Administration began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Two of the babies died. The company continues to state that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, which involved different bacterial strains.

FDA inspectors eventually uncovered a host of violations at the plant, including bacterial contamination, a leaky roof and lax safety protocols. The FDA has faced intense scrutiny for taking months to close the plant and then negotiate its reopening. Agency leaders recently told Congress they had to enter a legally binding agreement with Abbott to assure all the problems were fixed.

Abbott's February recall of several leading brands, including Similac, squeezed supplies that had already been strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.

The shortage has been most dire for children with allergies, digestive problems and metabolic disorders who rely on specialty formulas. The Abbott factory is the only source of many of those products, providing nutrition to about 5,000 U.S. babies, according to federal officials.

Abbott is one of just four companies that produce about 90% of U.S. formula. The company's recalls and shutdown triggered a cascade of effects: Retailers have limited customer purchasing to conserve supplies and parents have been told to switch brands to whatever formula is in stock.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf recently told lawmakers it could be about two months before formula supplies return to normal levels. The agency has waived many of its regulatory requirements to accept more formula from the United Kingdom, Australia and other nations.

U.S. manufacturers, including Reckitt and Gerber, have also stepped up production, running plants 24/7 and sourcing more formula from alternate facilities.

WASHINGTON —

U.S. health officials warned parents on Thursday not to use three popular powdered infant formulas manufactured at an Abbott plant in Michigan that investigators recently linked to bacterial contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is investigating four reports of infants who were hospitalized after consuming the formula, including one who died. The agency said one of the cases involved salmonella and three involved Cronobacter sakazakiim, a rare but dangerous germ that can cause blood infections and other serious complications.

Abbott, one of the country's largest infant formula makers, said it is recalling all potentially affected products manufactured at the facility. The recall affects certain lots of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare with expiration dates of April 1, 2022, or later. The product was distributed throughout the U.S. and overseas, the company said in a statement.

FDA staff are now inspecting Abbott's plant in Sturgis, Michigan, where environmental samples tested positive for the Cronobacter bacteria. Inspectors have also uncovered potential manufacturing problems, and past records showing the destruction of formula due to bacterial contamination.

"We're working diligently with our partners to investigate complaints related to these products, which we recognize include infant formula produced at this facility, while we work to resolve this safety concern as quickly as possible," said FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas.

The FDA said it is working with federal and local authorities in Minnesota, Ohio and Texas— the states where the infant infections were reported.

Abbott could not specify how many units the recall includes, but brands like Similac are among the best-selling formulas in the U.S. and overseas.

"We value the trust parents place in us for high quality and safe nutrition and we'll do whatever it takes to keep that trust and resolve this situation," a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

Abbott said parents can identify the recalled products by examining the number on the bottom of each container. The affected formulas have a number starting with 22 through 37, contain K8, SH, or Z2 and have an expiration date of April 1, 2022, or later. The company has also set up a website where parents can check if their products have been recalled: https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/home.html.

The company said its own testing of the finished product didn't detect any contamination. The recall does not affect liquid infant formulas or any other Abbott products.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

ROSWELL, Ga. — Becoming a new mom in the middle of a pandemic was far from what Jessica Kitchel had ever planned. A few weeks before Christmas, this Atlanta-area resident gave birth to her son, Chancy.

"It's been pretty isolating being in the house not being able to leave. And once my husband went back to work, the walls started closing in," Kitchel said.

While mom and baby are perfectly healthy, the holidays and COVID brought about a particularly profound sense of loneliness this year.

It was on one of those rough days in December when Kitchel was waiting for a shipment of Bobbie baby formula for her newborn. When the doorbell rang, she had expected to just find a box, but instead, found a gift waiting to be unwrapped.

In the weeks leading up to Kitchel's delivery, UPS driver Dallen Harrell had noticed the blue stork balloons tied to the family's mailbox. A new dad himself, Harrell decided to leave Kitchel a message as he dropped off her delivery.

In the video message, which has now gone viral, Harrell can be heard saying, "If this is the, 'It’s a Boy House,' I hope all is going well with your newborn. I had a child around the same time you guys did. I hope everything is going good. God bless."

And then the message ended.

"We get deliveries a lot and I’ve never had anyone leave a message. I was blown away. I thought he was like an angel that came to my door," Kitchel said after finding the video.

Just two days after posting the clip to Instagram, Kitchel was able to find Dallen Harrell, the UPS driver who had left the message.

"I was hesitant if I was even at the right house, hesitant if I should say something," Harrell said about the video.

Harrell never expected anyone to see his doorbell cam checkup, and he certainly didn’t expect the gifts he’d soon get in return.

After Kitchel shared the video on social media, there was an outpouring of support for Harrell and his new family. Strangers were so moved they ended up buying out Harrell's entire baby registry, which had been sitting untouched for three months.

"He and his fiancé had not had a baby shower. They hadn’t had a lot of gifts given to them. They had made a registry that was untouched," Kitchel explained.

For Harrell, the whole experience has been life-changing. After seeing the video, UPS decided to offer this seasonal driver a full-time job.

In the last month, the video has circulated around the globe, and Harrell hopes it can be the kind of gift which is appreciated year-round.

"I just hope this will restore faith in humanity, and I hope the message behind, people continue to pay it forward."