My baby fell dangerously ill projectile vomiting after I unknowingly gave him recalled formula for three MONTHS

SOON after Catharine Alexander first fed her newborn baby formula he began projectile vomiting and “screaming in agony”.

Terrified, the 25-year-old rushed little Alrlo back to hospital where he was treated for a bacterial infection.

But the health and social care student from Manchester now believes the illness was caused by the milk, which has since been recalled.

“I felt like I’d fed him some poison when all I want to do is protect my babies,” Catharine, a mum-of-two, said.

It comes as at least 36 children across the UK have fallen ill with suspected food poisoning from contaminated baby formula.

Several major formulas have since been recalled over fears they could contain the cereulide toxin, which can cause sickness and stomach pains.

Catharine fears her Arlo could have died had he stayed on the milk any longer, and is urging other parents to check their batch numbers.

“I trust these brands completely, nothing went wrong when I was feeding my daughter with them,” she said.

“Then for all this to happen, it was a bit of a whirlwind.

“I dread to think what could’ve happened if he’d carried on this milk.

“It could’ve been fatal. They were screening him for sepsis at the hospital.”

She added: “I don’t know if there’ll be any long-term effects because he’s been drinking toxic milk for three months.

“It could’ve seriously damaged his stomach.”

Catharine Alexander gave her newborn Arlo Chalmers Cow & Gate First Infant Milk immediately after giving birth in November.

The mum had used the formula with her first child and believed the milk to be a ‘trusted brand’.

“Whilst I was in hospital [after giving birth] everything was okay” she said.

“He was being sick but I thought that was because he’d just come out of the womb,” she added.

The next day after arriving home he started refusing to feed.

“He was projectile vomiting and screaming in agony and my partner decided to take him to hospital because we didn’t know what was going on with him,” she said.

“With him being premature too, we thought it was best to take him in. He’d actually lost weight due to the amount he’d been vomiting.”

“When we went to hospital, they ran tests on him and his infection markers were up.

“The toxins caused a bacterial infection inside of him.

“He was in hospital for five days on oxygen and antibiotics, he was very poorly.

“He had to have a feeding tube put in.”

Unbeknown to Catharine, she had been feeding little Arlo formula milk that has since been recalled due to the possible presence of a harmful toxin.

After switching Arlo’s formula from Cow & Gate to SMA Little Steps first infant formula then Aptamil, Catharine says her infant’s symptoms continued to deteriorate.

“It just spiralled from there,” she said.

“I went back to the doctors and said something’s not right and they diagnosed him with a cow’s milk allergy.

“Then we switched to Aptamil and he was still poorly.

“He was on that for around a month and a half and his symptoms were still the exact same.

“I put him back on Cow & Gate and he was still projectile vomiting with diarrhoea.”

It was only this month that Catharine said she realised all three brands of milk that she says she fed little Arlo had since been recalled due to the potential presence of cereulide.

The Food Standard Agency (FSA) confirmed that certain formula batches from SMA, Aptamil and Cow & Gate may contain cereulide, and urged parents to contact their GP or NHS 111 if they’ve fed the milk to their babies.

She switched milk brands and his symptoms disappeared.

“I tried every single milk brand,” Catharine said.

“Every single one that’s been recalled, I gave Arlo unfortunately.

“This isn’t something any mother should go through.

“After the first bottle of Kendamil, he was a completely different baby. There was no vomiting and his poos went back to normal.

“He’d had symptoms every day for three months. We’ve had long, sleepless nights and back and forth to the doctors with him.

“I’m still going through the ‘mum guilt’ now, I don’t think I’ll ever shift that.”

Catharine now believes the affected babies should be compensated by the formula brands.

“I am very angry at Cow & Gate, Aptamil and SMA. They’ve let not just me down, but all the other mothers too,” she said.

“I do think they should compensate every parent that has been through this. The babies should get the compensation,” she added.

The FSA said both Danone and Nestle have confirmed they are no longer using ingredients from the affected supplier, and that Aptamil, Cow & Gate and SMA products now on sale do not contain the contaminated ingredient.

A Nestlé spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about any cases where babies are poorly, and our teams will work closely with any families who report these types of concerns to us.

“On January 5th, Nestlé voluntarily recalled certain batches of SMA formula because we found that one of the ingredients supplied to us was not of the right quality and did not meet the standards we require.

“Quality and safety is non-negotiable and that is why we have acted quickly and decisively with this precautionary recall.

“We have discontinued sourcing the ingredient from the affected supplier and all batches of the ingredient (from other suppliers) are now being systematically tested to confirm the absence of cereulide. As the UK HSA are reporting, the symptoms are generally self-limiting and usually resolve within 24 hours after last consumption.”

A Danone North Europe spokesperson said: “We take all complaints seriously and we have been in contact with Catharine regarding her concerns.

“We understand how worrying it is for parents when their babies are ill. We want to reassure all parents that all our baby formulas are produced under strict food safety and quality standards and undergo rigorous checks before leaving our factories.

“Low levels of cereulide were identified in some specific recalled batches and we have replaced them with new products. All products available for purchase are safe to use.

“To date there are no confirmed cases of sickness or symptoms linked to our products.

“If their baby has no symptoms parents should not be concerned. If a baby is unwell we would recommend parents speak to their healthcare professional.

“To check if a product is part of the recall, parents can refer to the Cow and Gate or Aptamil website.”