Decline in Breastfeeding, Birth Rebound Behind Baby Formula Shortage

Year-Over-Year Change in 6-Month-Old Population

DI’s Family Survey has asked about breastfeeding behaviors from April 2020 to April 2022, enabling them to estimate how breastfeeding rates have changed over time.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (PRWEB)
May 16, 2022

Infant formula is in short supply across the United States. New research by Demographic Intelligence (DI) indicates two trends are helping drive this baby formula shortage in addition to the supply chain related to baby formula:

• First, in 2020, birth rates crashed. As those babies aged through the infant-formula-demanding cohorts, formula demand was anemic. But by early 2021, births came roaring back, leading to very high year-over-year growth rates. The attached figure from the Demographic Intelligence’s Special Report on Baby Formula, provides a broad picture of how the 6-month-old age cohort has changed over time, using data from DI’s industry-leading U.S. Fertility Forecast.
• Second, infant nutrition needs have changed markedly. DI’s Family Survey has asked about breastfeeding behaviors in five survey waves from April 2020 to April 2022, enabling us to estimate how breastfeeding rates have changed over time. The attached figure provides our estimates of breastfeeding rates by infant age, linked to CDC estimates for prior years. The DI Family Survey indicates breastfeeding rates have fallen, especially for higher infant ages, and that breastfeeding duration probably declined during the pandemic. This decline in breastfeeding is also fueling heightened market demand for infant formula.

“This change has received little or no attention, primarily because data on breastfeeding behavior is hard to come by,” said Lyman Stone, Director of Research for Demographic Intelligence. “Because DI’s Family Survey asks about breastfeeding, we have been able to monitor shifts in infant feeding behaviors.”

Demographic Intelligence’s Special Report on Baby Formula connects these and other variables together to describe changes in the infant formula market. Changing buyer habits, changing cohort sizes, and changing breastfeeding all influence market size and strategy.

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About Demographic Intelligence

Demographic Intelligence (DI) is the premier provider of U.S. birth forecasts and fertility analytics for businesses with an interest in birth trends in the United States and Europe. DI provides reports and consulting services to companies in the following sectors: juvenile products, healthcare, media, financial services, consumer food, and household products.

Contact:

Steven Morales

434-284-0808

[email protected]

http://www.demographicintel.com

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