Hannah Everett is a first-time mom, but she said she knew in her gut something was wrong with her 4-month-old baby, Piper. She never could have guessed the issue would be her organic baby formula.
Piper has been hospitalized at Golisano Children's at the University of Kentucky since Saturday, after Hannah discovered they had been using formula that was recalled for a potential link to cases of infant botulism.
RELATED STORY | ByHeart recalls all of its infant formula products amid nationwide botulism investigation
Everett said she first noticed Piper wasn't eating as much and was having fewer bowel movements.
Everett's grandmother was babysitting Piper when a friend reached out to her about the ByHeart infant formula recall.
"So I immediately texted my grandmother. I was like, you need to check the lot numbers on our cans, any cans in the trash, everything, and sure enough, it was an empty can that we had just completely finished," Everett said.
The family had purchased the formula on Amazon, with no way of knowing it would later be linked to the type of bacteria that produces a toxin that causes botulism.
Dr. Sean Michael McTigue, division chief of pediatric infectious disease at Golisano Children's at UK, emphasized that parents shouldn't panic over the recall.
"The vast majority of babies who have eaten this formula are going to be fine. Infantile botulism, even with known exposure, is very rare," McTigue said.
The doctor explained that infant botulism occurs when babies ingest spores that can germinate in the gut and produce the toxin, causing muscle weakness and other symptoms. In some cases, those symptoms could be severe.
Parents should be alert for several warning signs of infant botulism, including:
- Constipation
- Inability to suck from a bottle or difficulty feeding
- Trouble swallowing
- Pooling of breast milk or formula in the mouth
- Drooling
- Gurgling or choking sounds when eating
- Becoming weak and floppy
"But if you have a baby who has become constipated and is now showing difficulty feeding, really, those gurgling noises, milk drooling from the mouth, the inability to suck and swallow normally, those would be things that would make a parent want to seek medical care because that is something that's not going to be normal," McTigue said.
If warning signs are present, McTigue assured parents that infant botulism is treatable and babies recover fully with proper care.
"What is absolutely known is that this is something that is completely reversible. So, with treatment, over time, as these neuromuscular junctions repair themselves, the full expectation is for that baby to return to 100% their normal healthy baseline," McTigue said.
Meanwhile, Piper's IV has been removed and she's returning to her normal, smiley self. While she may need a short-term feeding tube, doctors tell the Everetts that she's on the mend.
"So we did get lucky that one of my girlfriends saw it so quickly and we acted so quickly. People here at UK have just been amazing, so we've just been very lucky," Everett said.
Everett said she's grateful she trusted her instincts and immediately sought medical care for her daughter.
ByHeart has since expanded the recall to include all of its baby formula products amid the ongoing investigation into the infant botulism cases.
