If you aren't familiar with the WIC program, it stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It's a Federal program, funded and administrated at the State level, focusing on nutrition. It is income based, with a fairly low income threshold, based on family size. Pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women qualify for services, as do children through age five. WIC provides vouchers for milk, cereal, peanut butter, beans, eggs, juice, and infant formula. Other foods are available for certain groups (such as carrots and tuna for breastfeeding moms).
WIC recently announced new changes that will take effect next month. The biggest change? Decreasing the amount of formula provided to babies.
Why would they do that? To promote breastfeeding.
Listen, I'm all for breastfeeding. If you've been here awhile you remember how devastated I was when my milk never came in with Aiden. I hadn't even considered formula feeding him, but there you go. I chose to play it by ear with Savannah, and sure enough, my milk never came in with her either. I don't mean I had a low supply. I don't mean I wasn't making "enough" milk. I mean I never saw a drop of colostrum, nor milk exit my body. Nothing.
Given my experience, I'm too aware that not every woman who wants to breastfeed is able. But I'm also a very strong believer that nobody has the right to force a woman to do anything with her body that she doesn't want to. If a woman doesn't want to breastfeed, for whatever reason, that is her choice to make. Naysayers can stand on the sidelines and think evil thoughts about her all day long. It's still her right to choose.
So WIC wants to promote breastfeeding. That's great, truly. I 100% support that. But I don't believe taking food from a baby's bottle is the way to do it. WIC is income based, and serves families who struggle financially. Theoretically, it serves families who wouldn't be able to afford the full cost of formula for their baby. And now WIC is going to make it even harder on them.
1. What about the moms of older babies already on WIC? When you have a six month old, or a nine month old, you can't reverse the clock. You can't flip a switch and start producing milk overnight, to make up for the formula WIC is taking from your baby.
2. If a mom can't breastfeed, and is poor, she is now being penalized by WIC. There should be some sort of allowance made for moms with an actual medical "excuse" for not breastfeeding. And yes, I know, that would probably open the door for abuse of the system, but....
3. A mom shouldn't have to choose between doing something she doesn't want to do (breastfeeding) and being able to afford to feed her baby.
Because you know what's going to happen? Moms are going to water down the formula to make it last longer. Moms are going to transition their babies to cereal and food faster than they should, because it's cheaper. Moms are going to give their babies cow's milk to save money. All things that are nutritionally HARMFUL for babies. But when WIC says these moms can expect to see an average increase of $68 out-of-pocket per month to feed their babies? C'mon now! Most families on WIC can't AFFORD an extra $68 a month.
The other kicker? WIC will be adding baby food vouchers. Starting at six months of age, WIC will provide exclusively breastfed babies with 64 jars of fruits/veggies, 31 jars of meats, and 24 ounces of cereal each month. Formula fed babies? NO BABY FOOD.
I'm sorry, but where did the focus on nutrition go?
Look, I'm not upset that WIC wants to promote breastfeeding more. I think that's fabulous. But it's the babies who are going to be effected by this decision. Reach out to the moms, educate, support, do what it takes! But don't take formula away from the baby in the process. And don't even spout off that if a woman can't afford formula she shouldn't be having a baby, or should breastfeed to save money. I agree, to a point. But the world isn't always so black and white. Some babies are unplanned. Some women just won't breastfeed, no matter what you do to reach them. And I get the frustration. Trust me, as a woman who sobbed hysterically for weeks because I wasn't able to breastfeed, it definitely makes my hair stand on end to hear a woman refuse to even consider or try breastfeeding. But regardless. Regardless of her choice, regardless of her mindset, regardless of how we feel about that mom....that baby still needs to be fed. And if mom isn't breastfeeding and is poor, someone needs to help that baby. WIC, why are you turning your back on that baby?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Shame On You, WIC
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oh. my. word. the government sure screwed up on this one. it'd be one thing to offer breastfeeding moms bonuses or incentives. it's another to deny or reduce the food that babies need to be healthy. I'm a breastfeeding mom. thankfully, this time (#3) has been relatively easy, but the first two times weren't without their trouble. considering that I'm a full time SAHM with a great support network and yet I still had trouble, I fear that these women who are working or who don't have the support network are just doomed to failure from the start. add to that the intense advertising pressure from formula companies and how breastfeeding can be so hard in the beginning, and you get stressed out mamas thinking that the formula can sure looks good. it's a shame they're going to get screwed in the long term.
overall, to each their own. I wish more people would breastfeed. I think everyone should try. but if a woman choses not to? then the baby isn't the one who deserves the penalty. (and for those, like you, who couldn't? that's a whole different heartbreaking can of worms).
"...I don't believe taking food from a baby's bottle is the way to do it."
I don't think I could agree with you more.
DO you have a link? I'd love to read up on the justification of reducing the formula amounts. I can kind of understand breatfeeding babies getting more jars of baby food. If WIC figures on an expenditure of X per family and breastfeeding mothers get X-formula costs there would be more benefit money available for baby food for brestfeeding moms. Two of my three are breastfed and IIRC that is saving us about $20/week. If Wic is saving $20/week for each breastfeeding infant, why not pass the savings along via more baby food. I'm not sure I see that as depriving formula fed babies of food, but spreading out the benefits that an exclusively breastfed infant didn't need.
Really curious about the formula reduction, though, and why WIC would think that is okay. I found a link where they state that the formula reduction is 10%, but no reasoning for that
Clapping my hands over here!!! Great Post!
Love this post.
I went to the WIC site and almost cried at my desk. I had preemie twins and tried EVERYTHING possible to get breastfeeding to work. Thousands of dollars on LCs, pumps, finger feeding, SNS, etc.
Read the twin section and you might cry too. If you have multiple babies from the same pregnancy, you only get 1.5 times the package. So if you had triplets (who are premature in 99% of pregnancies), you only get 1.5 times the food. And breastfeeding rates for twins are abysmally low even in wealthy families bc it is just so hard to take care of two infants (generally premature, 50% prematurity rate for twins!) and breastfeed as well.
That is absolutely insane. I am very pro-breastfeeding, but as a working mom who simply could NOT pump enough, sometimes even BFing moms need formula! And I agree--I would never force anyone to breastfeed. Sometimes it just doesn't work. And about the not providing food to formula-fed babies. Um, WHAT? All babies need the nutrients in food (eventually).
This makes me sick.
Wow... just wow... Back in '07 when Raven was born, I had tried breastfeeding. It took a very long time before I ever began to produce milk. Took even longer for Raven to learn to suck. And then, I was having problems getting *enough* milk for her. And while all this was going on, I was passing gall stones. ((OMG so not a good thing!!!)) it didn't matter what I ate/drank, everything flared them up. So, I wasn't eating enough to even make milk. After three long months of this I had to go have my gall bladder removed. During those last few weeks, I had to switch over to formula -- She was starving!
And then, by 6 months old, I ended up doing what is otherwise harmful. I was doing three scoops of formula (6 oz) to a full bottle of water (9-10 oz) I wasn't watering it down *alot* and she was fine with it. It never hurt her, and I didn't know it was harmful until she was a year old and already off formula. But we were getting 9 cans of formula a month, and it was no where near enough for her. It was either water it down a little bit or spend money we just didn't have on another $12 - $24 can every week or so.
Robin was much the same way, we had to fight the foodstamps because the state screwed us over with them, and they cut us off for months. Robin ended up going through 15 cans a month, and he was eating solid food at the same time. And after the trouble I had with Raven, I just didn't want to torture the baby and try and breast feed him.
If nine cans are not enough to feed a baby, why are they cutting back?! It is now making me scared to have another child somewhere down the line.
(again, this is nevermore82 on twitter =oP)
We 'met' on twitter yesterday and I was so glad you found me. My milk never came in either, and it was devastating. I hadn't even considered bottle feeding either.
As for WIC I understand where they are coming from but outraged at their execution. That is a rediculous way to promote breastfeeding. I agree with every point you made.
Wy are we giving cash for clunkers and not nutrition to babies? HM.
Great post! Very well said!
These bureaucrats really do have their heads in the sand, don't they? I bet they never even took into account the mothers who CAN'T breastfeed. I also agree with you, though, on not forcing a mother to do something she doesn't want to do.
I have to go find out who I can write to about this.
I understand there's no such thing as common sense especially when it comes to anything the government manages but this is one of those situations where you just want to ask what the hell are they thinking?
This is really, really sad.
Especially in light of the recent Isotoner/Totes debacle where a factory worker was fired for taking breast milk pump breaks.
How exactly does WIC expect low-income mothers to keep their jobs AND breastfeed when the Ohio Supreme Court just ruled that firing a woman for her pump breaks was okay?
Great post! I agree with everything you said. The babies are going to be the ones who suffer.
Oh wow, I had no idea WIC was doing this. That's awful.
Great post - thanks for sharing this info. How terrible!
I agree with you.... and you know the theoretical paradigm that my mind went to. Also, I have learned way more about breastfeeding these past few weeks that I have ever cared to know (2 friends had babies 10 days apart from each other last month...yes, I never thought I would apply the super/subordinate theory to breastfeeding, but that's where my mind went.
It seems to me this is a classic policy decision that some political appointee made without considering any input from those on the ground or those who use the service. And they failed to account for the realities - like that not all women can produce enough milk, enough of the right kind of milk, or any milk at all - but also that breast feeding can be a luxury. It's killing my two friends - who are home on maternity leave and have amazing husbands who are holding down the fort while working. It takes all of their energy and pumping isn't the easy solution (which I always thought it would be).
So if the women who use WIC to make ends meet try to work shortly after the baby is born (or 3-6 months) it might not be possible to do because of this government mandate. In other words, the policy may have the unintended consequence of keeping women in an economically strained situation.
I believe that babies should be breastfed if they can, for at least the first 6 weeks - there are so many health benefits that it is insane not to, if you are able. However, as you pointed out, there are some moms who cannot or will not BF, that is not the baby's fault. I think that it is terrible that WIC is going to be giving food to babies who BF and not those that FF...that makes no sense to me, at all.
I wonder who you would call to complain about something like this...any ideas?
Holy crap. That's an absolutely ridiculous policy. I too was unable to breastfeed, and cried and cried, and cried...but at least I could afford formula. I can't imagine how awful that would have been if I had no other viable alternatives.
Punishing people is not a good way to increase breastfeeding. Education, yes. Rewarding them for doing so, yes. Taking food away from the next generation? Heinous.
I think the saying goes something like this:
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Right idea, wrong implementation.
That is ridiculous. I, too, tried to breastfeed with NO intention on formula feeding whatsoever, only to not have my milk come in. I didn't want to starve my child... So I gave in and formula fed.
I never did get on WIC, but for those who truly need it.. They really need to rethink their plans.
Thank you for sharing this disturbing info. This is another way of the government giving us something half full. They really need to re-think this. Why even have the program then?
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