Bette Midler has been criticized for her "ignorant" response to the ongoing baby formula shortage in the United States. As reported by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-61445314">BBC News</a>, there has been an increasing concern over the availability of baby formula across the US following labor and supply chain challenges, as well as a factory closure back in February following a bacteria-linked product recall. It has been described by experts as the worst formula shortage in decades, per BBC News. However, when MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle opted to <a href="https://twitter.com/SRuhle/status/1524926985457246213">tweet</a> about the ongoing parenting issue, actor Bette Midler believed she had the solution to everybody's problems. <img class="size-large wp-image-1263154476" src="https://img.vt.co/2022/05/2J878F8-1024x684.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="684" />[[imagecaption|| Empty shelves at a store in Gainesville, VA. Credit: MediaPunch Inc / Alamy]] "The baby formula shortage reveals an amazing secret oligopoly," Ruhle tweeted on Thursday. "3 American companies control over 90% of the [market]." Then after saying how restrictive regulations backed by lobbying prohibit the sale of foreign formulas, Ruhle tasked her followers to "name another industry/sector/product like this". Midler then shared Ruhle's tweet, along with her answer: "TRY BREASTFEEEDING! It’s free and available on demand." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1524947625253945349]] Of course, the 76-year-old's response simply is not a solution for many families out there. Per <a href="https://www.webmd.com/baby/why-not-producing-enough-breast-milk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WebMD</a>, some mothers can struggle to produce enough breastmilk for their child for a number of reasons - including stress, weight, or pre-existing medical conditions. Additionally, there are some newborn children out there who don't have a mother to be able to breastfeed them. Put simply, not every parent can breastfeed their child. As a result, Twitter uses promptly responded to Midler's "ignorant" response to the issue, sharing this information in the process. Author and mom of twins Ilyse Hogue tweeted: "Bette, respectfully, this is a very bad take. I had twins. I didn’t produce enough milk for both. Without formula, I would have had to have chosen which one got to eat. To say nothing of kids that get separated from the birth mothers very young." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ilyseh/status/1524953118743617536]] A second Twitter user added: "I love you Bette but this is totally tone deaf. My mother was unable to breastfeed me and my brothers, she couldn’t produce enough milk. We’d have starved without formula. Not every parent is the birth parent, what do you propose adoptive parents do?" [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TeddiThompsonS1/status/1525244778211860482]] Another added: "Ma'am. What about babies who are tongue-tied and can't latch? NICU babies? If the mother is unable to produce breastmilk? Or enough breastmilk? What about mothers who can't stay home for 6 months and it affects their milk supply? This is a bad take. And I was a milk factory." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/NYPoliticalMom/status/1525170157072654338]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1525173149033185280]] Founder of America First Legal and Senior Advisor to President Trump commented: "What a profoundly offensive [and] ignorant statement. There are countless reasons why breastfeeding is not an option for many mothers—too many to get into here. And if you’ve been using formula you can’t just flip a switch. Not to mention millions of babies with milk/food allergies…" Middler later clarified her comments in a follow-up tweet, explaining: "People are piling on because of former tweet. "No shame if you can’t breastfeed, but if you can [and] are somehow convinced that your own milk isn’t as good as a 'scientifically researched product', that’s something else again." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1524953683271761940]] She finished by saying: "The monopoly news is news to me, tho, no lie. #WETNURSES" <h6>Featured image credit: Newscom / Alamy</h6>

Bette Midler called out for 'ignorant' response to baby formula shortage

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