No one ever told 23-year-old Jeri Moss that putting too much water in her baby's formula could kill him.
She had used the money-stretching trick with her older child, 18-month-old Yasmine Barton, with no problem.
On Tuesday, 5-month-old La'Damian Barton had a seizure and stopped breathing as his mother wheeled him to a grocery store. Moss performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the infant still wasn't breathing when he arrived at University Community Hospital.
After two days on a ventilator, the baby is improving and is expected to be released in a day or two. He was diagnosed with water intoxication and malnourishment. He weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces and should be nearly 12 pounds.
Moss agreed to share her story this afternoon in hopes of warning other parents that water can kill. She had no idea, she said. She was just trying to stretch the eight to 10 cans of formula she got each month through the Women, Infants and Children program.
She really needed about 15 cans, she said, but couldn't afford $16 to $18 for each.
"I'm really, really tight, and this is all I had," she said.
Hey boyfriend, the children's father, Antonia Barton, has a job with a company that sets up tents for special events, but work is sporadic, she said.
She is studying at Everest University, a private tech school, to be a medical assistant.
She said she used four scoops of Good Start soy formula in 6 ounces of water instead of what the directions called for, six scoops in 8 ounces of water.
"This is a very serious situation, especially in thin economic times," said James Orlowski, chief of pediatric medicine at University Community Hospital.
He said infants on formula or breast milk should receive no additional water until they are about 10 months old.
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