Baby formula, and the way we feed our infants, have become a hot-button issue. Especially as the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis has risen, the legal blowback to formula manufacturers that are proven dangerous to some infants has drastically increased.

Taking care of your child is a top priority for any parent. If your child was born prematurely, the risk of your family having experienced the often-devastating effects of NEC is much higher. Knowing your rights, and the specifics of NEC is crucial to your family’s future.

What Exactly Is NEC?

The disease NEC or necrotizing enterocolitis affects the intestines of premature infants (typically those at less than 37 full weeks of gestation), and infants within a few weeks of being birthed. Necrotizing enterocolitis develops when bacteria invade and infect the wall of the infant’s intestines. When severe, the infant’s intestines can become inflamed, and even perforate, which allows other harmful bacteria, as well as other substances that can harm the infant, to leak into both their abdomen and bloodstream.

Because NEC primarily affects infants, the disease is incredibly dangerous, and can even become deadly. Parents often experience extreme stress and psychological symptoms when dealing with the disease and its effects. For those whose child has been tragically affected by necrotizing enterocolitis, joining the baby formula lawsuit targeting the manufacturers responsible for baby formula that leads to NEC can prove valuable.

What are Common Complications of NEC?

To treat necrotizing enterocolitis, several different medical routes are taken. Treatment often includes stopping all regular feeding sessions for the infant for a set period and feeding the child nutrients through an intravenous catheter instead. Additionally, a nasogastric tube will be inserted through the infant’s nose, so that fluids can be sucked from the infant’s stomach, and allow antibiotics to be introduced into the system.

Because necrotizing enterocolitis is often so devastating, the medical solutions must be aggressive. Thankfully, the medical interventions help resolve all symptoms in most cases, allowing the child to develop in a healthy, everyday fashion. That being said, severe cases can be not only life-threatening but can require expensive, dangerous procedures (such as blood transfusions or surgery to remove damaged sections of the infant’s intestines. Currently, around 30% of infants diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis end up requiring surgery, and a tragic 20% to 30% of cases have proven fatal.

Of those infants that survive NEC, more than half end up developing long-term complications. Poor growth patterns, malnutrition, metabolic bone disease, sepsis, neurocognitive impairment, short bowel syndrome, liver dysfunction, and parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis are some of the more common, and dangerous complications infants may experience after experiencing necrotizing enterocolitis.

Signs and Symptoms of NEC

Knowing the warning signs and symptoms that are associated with necrotizing enterocolitis can help you save your infant. The most common symptoms include lethargy, feeding intolerance, apnea, bloody stools, a lack of normal weight gain, bile-colored vomiting, gastric discharge, temperature instability, abnormal heart rate, and blood pressure, and a swollen abdomen. These symptoms are possible in a window of two-to-six weeks after birth typically. NEC that’s developing in the womb can be harder to spot and will require a more keen, professional eye for it to be diagnosed.

What Does Baby Formula Have to Do with NEC?

Research that’s been performed over 30 years has established that a primary cause of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants is feeding them cow’s milk-based formula instead of human breast milk or other (now known to be) safer alternatives. This led to a 2011 warning and Call to Action from the U.S. Surgeon General that heavily supported breastfeeding for premature infants, and cautioned against cow’s milk formula, emphasizing its association with higher rates of necrotizing enterocolitis.

As recently as May 2020, the scientific journal Breastfeeding Medicine discovered that premature babies that were fed cow’s milk-derived formula experienced a 4.2-fold increase in their risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis and a frightening 5.1-fold increase for undergoing a necrotizing enterocolitis surgery or death. With this shocking information in mind, parents of all premature infants should steer clear of using any cow’s milk-derived formula during their development. Many formulas have been recalled during the uprise in NEC diagnosis.

How Do I Qualify for an NEC Lawsuit?

Knowing your rights when it comes to fighting the manufacturers that may have caused your infant’s necrotizing enterocolitis, and the complications from the disease is crucial. If your infant was born prematurely (less than 37 full weeks of gestation), was fed cow’s milk-derived formula (especially Enfamil or Similac) before their necrotizing enterocolitis diagnosis, was diagnosed with NEC, and suffered a life-long condition, or died, then you qualify to join one of the many major lawsuits involved with NEC.