Baby Near Death After Mother Dilutes Formula

By: Carrie Davis Some material provided by WFLA-TV | News Channel 7
Published: December 03, 2008

A mother suffering through this tough economic time tries to cut cost and stretch the amount of formula she has for her baby.
But what she didn't realize is the water she was adding was having a deadly impact on her little boy.
5 month old La'Damian Barton is a hungry and alert baby boy, nothing like a week ago when he came to the hospital near death.
Jeri Moss says she didn't understand why he was so sick. She says, "He was in his stroller and he just curled up in a ball so I grabbed him and then I noticed he stopped breathing. I had no idea. I was just hysterical. I thought I was losing him."

Doctors said he had water intoxication, where your system shuts down because it is absorbing too much water. The reason they believe is because Moss admittedly had been diluting his baby formula to make it last longer in these tough times.

Moss says, "I figured it taste the same and he would still get his nutrients from the little formula I was using."

Spartanburg pediatrician Dr. Marc Webber with Palmetto Pediatrics says that should never be an option.

He says, "It can be deadly or it can leave an infant or child with neurological damage."

He does say unfortunately there could ne more parents out there like moss that just don't know.

Dr. Webber says, "It would be a worry with the way the economy is going. You really have to administer the concentrate or the powder you have to be adding the water as per the manufacturers recommendation otherwise the consequences can be devastating."

Near death, little La'Damian stayed on a ventilator for two days. Now he's looking better and has even left the hospital."

Moss says, "They always say water does the body good but now I see, I never knew you could have too much and with the formula doing that stuff I never would have realized it."

Now, doctors hope this will be a warning to all parents that skimping on a child's nutrition could kill them.
According to Dr. Webber if you need help getting infant formula you can apply for WIC and they should be able to give you all the formula you need.
However, if that is not enough, local food banks will provide baby formula. If all else fails, notify your pediatrician or a health care professional that you will not be able to provide the proper food for your baby.