Kennedy Has Ordered a Review of Baby Formula. Here’s What You Should Know
As federal health officials vow to overhaul the U.S. food supply, they’re taking a new look at infant formula. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed the Food and Drug Administration to review the nutrients and other ingredients in infant formula, which fills the bottles of millions of American babies. The effort, dubbed “Operation Stork Speed,” is the first deep look at the ingredients since 1998.
“The FDA will use all resources and authorities at its disposal to make sure infant formula products are safe and wholesome for the families and children who rely on them,” Kennedy said. About three-quarters of U.S. infants consume formula during the first six months of life, with about 40% receiving it as their only source of nutrition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Formula has been widely used in the U.S. for roughly six decades, feeding generations of infants who have flourished, said Dr. Steven Abrams, a University of Texas infant nutrition expert.
New Florida Law Expands Services, Support for Children With Autism
Families of children with autism are championing a new Florida law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Senate Bill 112, which has unofficially been dubbed the “Autism Bill,” passed the Florida House and Senate unanimously and focuses on early intervention, education and workforce training for teachers.
Some specific changes outlined in the new law include:
-
- Students with disabilities up to age four can stay in Early Steps, an intervention program that helps children with developmental delays. It previously ended at age three.
- Provides startup grants for the development of charter schools for students with autism and funds summer programs and camps.
- Creates a free “microcredential” autism program for teachers and child care personnel.
- Requires the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment at the University of Florida to act as a statewide hub for autism research, grants and services.
- Expands the Cinotti Health Care Screening and Services Grant Program to include free screenings for autism at any age.
Measles Vaccination Rates in Children Have Declined in Most U.S. Counties, Study Finds
Amid a widespread decline in childhood measles vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the U.S., a study published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state.
Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination rate decreased from 93.92% in the 2017-2018 school year to 91.26% in the 2023-2024 school year. Other states were not included because they had missing vaccination data, the authors of the study said.
Of the 2,066 counties the study looked at, 78% saw a decline in vaccination rates. Only four of the 33 states — California, Connecticut, Maine and New York — saw an increase in the average county-level vaccination rate, the study found. The data shows significant diversity in the levels of vaccination within and across states, which the authors of the study say could “help inform targeted vaccination strategies.”
Amid National Measles Outbreaks, Vaccination Rates for Alaska Children Have Fallen, Report Says
Alaska’s rates for childhood vaccinations are well below the national average, and the percentage of kindergarteners who had received all recommended vaccines was the lowest last year since at least 2017, according to a new report from the state Department of Health.
Only 54% of kindergarteners in the state had received all of their recommended vaccinations in 2024, according to a bulletin issued by the department’s epidemiology section. That compares to a national rate of about 93%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are six recommended vaccines for severe illnesses for kindergarten-age children, and Alaska rates fall below the national average for all six, including polio and chickenpox. For the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, commonly called MMR, only 76% of Alaska kindergarteners in 2024 had completed the recommended two-dose series, the bulletin said. That compares to a 93% national rate for the MMR vaccine, said the bulletin, which documented a downward drift in vaccination rates over recent years.
Study Links Inflammation During Pregnancy to Higher Risk of Autism and ADHD in Children
Dr. Tingting Wang, along with a multi-institutional team from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, or COPSAC, cohort in Denmark along with collaborators, led a decade-long investigation into how inflammation in pregnant women may affect their children’s neurodevelopment. The study, titled “Maternal Inflammatory Proteins in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Age 10 Years,” was published in JAMA Psychiatry on March 12, 2025.
This study found a strong link between inflammation during pregnancy and brain development problems in children by age 10. Kids whose mothers had the highest levels of certain inflammatory proteins were 49% more likely to be diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder. The risk of autism was especially alarming — 2.76 times higher — and children were also 57% more likely to develop ADHD with inattentive symptoms. The proteins most tied to these risks included VEGF-A, IL-12B, CD5, CCL3, FGF-23, and MCP-1 — signals that are often involved in immune responses and inflammation.
Interestingly, these inflammatory markers were not linked to how well children performed on tasks that measured executive function, such as memory and attention control. Still, the findings suggest that inflammation in the womb may silently alter how a child’s brain develops, with symptoms only appearing years later.
Digital Baby Formula Campaigns Undermine Breastfeeding and Put Child Health at Risk
A global resolution on digital marketing of breast milk substitutes must be rigorously enforced, writes Afshan Khan, Assistant Secretary-General of the U.N. and coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.
Breastfeeding saves lives. It is one of the most powerful, proven investments in child survival, development and health. And yet its practice is being undermined — not by science, but by sophisticated and often misleading digital marketing. More than half of new parents are exposed to online promotions for formula milk, often disguised as medical advice or peer support. In some countries, that figure rises to over 90%.
What these aggressive campaigns for breast milk substitutes do not tell parents is that breast milk is essential for building a child’s immune system — something formula simply cannot do. They also ignore a critical risk: formula must be mixed with water, and in communities without safe water access, this often leads to illness and infection in young children.
Digital marketing campaigns are targeting parents at their most vulnerable — when they are seeking guidance, not manipulation. These tactics distort choice by drowning out trusted, evidence-based information with biased, misleading promotion.
