After a woman’s baby was born prematurely, her son died of life-threatening disease that she says was caused by formula fed to him in a neonatal intensive care unit in Memphis, Tennessee.
Nakia Harris is suing two formula makers over the death of her newborn baby, Ja Stevens, saying the companies sell and promote their products to physicians and parents without warning of “hidden dangers” to preterm infants.
Harris gave birth on April 12, 2023, and her son died April 29, 2023, after developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), according to her lawsuit. The gastrointestinal disease mainly affects newborns and has a 50% mortality rate, according to a report published in the National Library of Medicine.
Premature, low-weight babies are particularly at risk, and formula feeding is considered another risk factor, the report says. The condition causes bacteria to invade the intestine and destroy it.
According to Harris’ lawsuit, her baby was sent to the NICU at Regional One Health in Memphis the day he was born.
There, he was fed an Enfamil formula, the lawsuit says. Her son started showing likely signs of NEC, including vomiting and feeding intolerance, nine days before his death, according to the lawsuit.
Harris “successfully pumped her own breast milk for her baby’s nutrition,” and “Enfamil formula made up a significant portion of (his) diet between April 12, 2023, and April 21, 2023,” the lawsuit says.
Enfamil is made by Mead Johnson. The nutrition company’s products used in NICUs for preterm babies aren’t the same as Enfamil formulas sold in stores for babies born full-term.
Regional One Health spokeswoman Angie Golding told McClatchy News on July 18 that babies in the hospital’s NICU “may receive breast milk or formula for nourishment.”
“We encourage the use of breast milk, but if the mother is unable to produce enough the diet is supplemented with formula,” Golding said.
She confirmed Regional One Health uses “Enfamil products, including formula that is specifically for preterm babies.”
Nutrition company denies its formula causes disease
Harris has brought her lawsuit against Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories, the company that makes the baby formula brand Similac.
The lawsuit says both companies “mislabel and misrepresent the contents” of their products “both to the public at-large and to the health care community, passing off these deadly products as something like or even superior to human breast milk.”
On July 12, the lawsuit was transferred to federal court after it was first filed in Shelby County, Tennessee.
In a statement to McClatchy News, Mead Johnson said “specialized preterm nutrition products for premature babies provide essential, lifesaving nutrition to the most vulnerable infants when mother’s or donor milk is unavailable or insufficient.”
“We stand by the safety and efficacy of our preterm nutrition products, which neonatologists recommend when clinically appropriate as a crucial part of the standard of care in neonatal intensive care units,” the company said.
“Claims that these products cause NEC are not supported by the science or the medical consensus,” the company’s statement added.
An attorney representing Abbott Laboratories, who also represents Mead Johnson, didn’t respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 17.
While the direct cause of NEC in premature babies is unclear, these infants have a “weaker immune system” and digestive system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“When premature babies get an intestinal infection, their immune and digestive systems have a hard time fighting it,” the Cleveland Clinic says online.
There may be a lower chance an infant develops NEC if they’re fed breast milk, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
$60 million verdict against Mead Johnson
In February, a case against Mead Johnson over Enfamil went to trial for the first time in Illinois, The Madison/St. Clair Record reported.
On March 13, a jury ruled in the favor of Jasmine Watson — the mother of a baby boy who died of NEC after he was born prematurely — awarding a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson in St. Clair County, just outside of St. Louis, according to the newspaper.
Similar to Harris, Watson accused Mead Johnson of not warning that the company’s formula was dangerous to premature infants like her son, Chance Dean, the newspaper reported. The jury found the company to be negligent.
A trial is underway in St. Louis against Abbott over its Similac baby formula, Reuters reported. The trial began July 9.
Mom wants jury trial
In the U.S., more than a thousand lawsuits have been filed over premature babies who developed NEC, ABC News reported.
Harris’ lawsuit says Mead Johnson and Abbott “knew or should have known” that the risk of NEC and death increases in preterm infants who are fed the companies’ cow milk-based products.
She’s accusing the company of failing to provide any warnings, including on product labels.
Harris is suing on claims of design defect, negligence and a failure to warn, and she seeks damages for “emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium” and more.
She demands a jury trial.
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