WORD OF WARNING: Eleanor Pearson cuddles her six-month-old son, Henry. She is warning local parents about the “new improved” NAN formula.
A LOCAL mother has issued a warning to other parents after her little boy became sick when she tried a "new improved" baby formula.
Six-month-old Henry Pearson is a picture of health now, but a month ago it was a very different story.
Soon after his mum Eleanor swapped to the "new improved" Nestle NAN HA Gold baby formula, he became violently ill.
Mrs Pearson blames the change of recipe for his symptoms, which included rashes, dehydration and irritability.
While Henry is now thriving, the first-time mum was determined to warn other parents.
"I was devastated when I couldn't exclusively breastfeed my son due to severe blood loss at birth," Mrs Person said.
"I had to supplement with formula.
"He had already been on the old recipe when I heard that there was a new, better formula so I actively went out and bought it.
"I never wanted to use formula in the first place, so I wanted to find the best one available.
"But I noticed changes in his poo, they were really green and watery and he just wasn't satisfied he started feeding every two hours.
"It was a horrible, horrible time.
"You know that breast is best so when you are forced to go to formula it isn't easy, this was like a twist of the knife."
After persevering for two months Mrs Pearson had had enough.
She visited a doctor, who suggested she start feeding Harry on solids.
Then she typed the name of the new formula into a search engine.
"When I typed it in, all these horror stories came up," Mrs Pearson said.
"I found the baby formula I had been feeding my child for the past two months has been making babies across Australia very sick.
"Other parents who used the formula complained of changes in their babies, too and they noticed an improvement as soon as they changed formulas or reverted back to the original Nan recipe.
"This original version, however, is becoming harder to find.
"Parents are stocking up on what they can find.
"I've joined the 'Recall All Nestle NAN HA Gold Baby Formula' Facebook page, which has attracted more than 1600 parents."
However, Nestle told The Area News independent testing co-ordinated by the NSW Food Authority showed there were no food safety issues with Nestle NAN HA infant formula.
NSW Health had also checked hospital records and reports from clinicians.
"At this time there is no evidence that the recent change of formulation of NAN HA Gold is physically harmful to babies," NSW Health NSW Chief Paediatrician Les White said.
"It is understood that the symptoms described in babies by parents have occurred at the time of a change in formula from the old to a newer version of Nestle NAN HA Gold formula.
"This has been the case in many, but not all, of the reports to date," .
"Babies can react to formula and particularly to a change in formula in a number of ways and with a wide spectrum of symptoms.
"Babies can also react differently to different formulas.
"Generally, if problematic symptoms persist, are severe, or include a rash, we recommend parents consult a health professional for advice."
