ROCKTON, Ill. (WTVO) — Some parents have turned to making homemade formula recipes, although doctors are warning against it.

The nationwide baby formula shortage is forcing many parents to get creative in order to provide essential food for newborns.

“I feel helpless like… I’m worried about where his next meal is coming from… it’s very scary,” said Andrea Reina.

Reina is a mother of two, and says she is struggling to find food for her 3-month-old baby.

“The shelves are getting emptier and emptier and it’s getting harder and harder, and I can’t skip out on feeding him because he needs the nutrition,” she said.

Reina said she goes to five different stores just to find one bin of formula, which is enough to last only three days.

Camila Martin, a pediatric clinical nutritionist at UW Health, says, during these stressful times, it is important to seek help from pediatric professionals, to see what alternatives are best for a child’s health.

“Formulas are made with really, really specific oversights and under federal regulations to be able to provide specific nutrients to infants and children,” said Martin.

“Homemade formulas aren’t going to have the exact distribution [of nutrients], and if they are off by a little bit, it can become extremely dangerous to infants, whose bodies aren’t as resilient as ours, as adults,” she added.

Martin said to help combat the shortage, women can breastfeed if they are able, reach out to breast milk banks, or connect with support groups on social media.

“I have a couple of friends [whose] baby is on the same formula, so we kinda just watch out for each other.. go pick a few places to go to, and then I’ll also go to a few places, and then she’ll pick me up some and vice versa,” Reina said.

Expert also warn parents shouldn’t ever dilute baby formula.