I was sent a link to this blog earlier, and (to put it nicely) it really pissed me off.
First, I have issues with WIC. I am married to an e-5 member of the United States Navy, so we more than qualify. We've even been on WIC in the past. However, my personal experiences with them have been less than mediocre, so at this point in time, I'd rather stretch my budget than deal with them.
I decided to apply for WIC when I found myself unexpectedly pregnant with a third child. My older two daughters could go through a gallon of milk every day, a loaf of bread every two, and I had lost count of how much cheese they ate. My husband was continually gone on "work-ups," which meant that he wasn't home much, and I was left to try and stretch his paycheck to feed our family.
I made an appointment at the local Health Department, packed up my kids, and showed up on time. From the moment I walked in the door, I was made to feel inferior, unintelligent, and ashamed. It was as if I was judged from the moment of entry. As far as they were concerned, I was in the same category as a welfare mom addicted to drugs. I filled out their paperwork, sat through their orientation, received my WIC checks, and went on about my life. Annoyed, but willing to let it go.
Little did I realize the judgment I would be subject to in the grocery store line when someone behind me would sigh heavily and make snide comments when all you want to do is get your gallon of milk and high-tail your ass out of there. It was humiliating and demoralizing.
In the meantime, I changed the location of our WIC appointments to the office on base. I thought I would be judged less there, and I was right. The next appointment went fairly well, and (other than the continual grocery store glares) I used my WIC checks for good stuff like milk, bread, and cheese.
Fast forward a bit to February of 2011. I gave birth to my third daughter, Petra. She was beautiful! She was given to me seemingly healthy, only to be snatched from my arms 8 hours after delivery when she suddenly stopped breathing. Petra was sent to the NICU, and I was suddenly faced with having to pump exclusively until she got better.
Pumping at the hospital wasn't an issue. The staff brought a hospital grade pump right to my room. Thankfully, colostrum and (later) milk production wasn't a problem, either. I was seen by a lactation consultant and given all sorts of information. I was told that if we were eligible for WIC, I would be able to have use of a comparable pump for free. I promptly called the local WIC office, explained my situation to them, and asked for help... Only to be told that if I couldn't make a new appointment and bring all of my children to the office, they could not help me. I was told that if I wanted my formula checks, I could make an appointment after the baby came home. I politely tried to explain that I wasn't the least bit interested in receiving poison (ahem, I mean formula) checks. I had successfully breast fed 2 children well beyond the age recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and I fully intended to do it again! I just wanted to be able to pump as instructed by the doctors and nurses without having supply issues. I was once again told that they could not help me.
To say that I told them to take a flying leap would be the nicest way to put it. I ended up spending $379 on a top of the line Medela pump and spent the next month pumping every 2 hours for 20 minutes, come hell or high water. It was more exhausting than nursing a newborn. But I did it anyway.
To make a long story short... After earning the "Sickest Baby in the NICU" trophy, 11 days on a jet ventilator, 19 days on oxygen, 9 days on TPN, 7 days on tube feedings, countless failed "car seat tests," and coming home on an Apnea and Bradycardia monitor for close to 3 months, my daughter is exclusively breast fed, cloth diapered, and doesn't "cry it out."
Aaaaaaannnnnnyyyyyywwwwwaaaayyyyy...
I said ALL of that to say this...
How much sense does it make to freely give out millions of dollars in federal funding handing out baby poison (sorry, formula) instead of supporting one breast feeding mother? Not much.
***DISCLAIMER... The following opinions are mine and mine alone, and are potentially controversial, so if you are going to be offended, you might want to leave now.***
The simplest way to reform WIC would be to feed babies the way that they are meant to be fed. Formula feeding should NEVER be a choice; it should be a last resort.Hell, I think that infant formula should be regulated as a drug, not a food, and only prescribed in situations where it is medically impossible for a mother to breast feed her infant.
Now, I'm sure most of you think that my stance is crazy and extreme. Well, as I said before, that's my opinion. Seriously, if I can successfully breast feed three children, then anyone can do it... Given the proper information and support. Take that away, and millions of dollars is being spent giving formula to women that could have (and even desperately wanted to) breast fed their babies.
**I didn't even have time to touch on the health/medical benefits of breast feeding, as well as the superior bonding experience. That, my friends, can wait for another day...**
I totally agree! I exclusively breastfed all three of my children. Thankfully none of them ever had health problems that required me to pump. None of my children ever had a sip of formula or even ever used a bottle for that matter. I was lucky enough to be a full time stay at home mom with all of my children, and I did cloth diaper most of the time.
ReplyDeleteI did get wic with my oldest daughter, but after her, I decided it was not worth it. I never had too many issues in the grocery store using my vouchers, but the hoops you have to jump through just to get wic in the first place is ridiculous!
I am now a working mother since all three of my children are in school. My baby goes into second grade this year. I am a bookkeeper at a grocery store, so now I get to see the use of wic from the other side of the cash register. Not only do other customer behave just as you decribed, but cashier hate to see someone with wic because it is such a pain to accecpt the vouchers. This falls back to the state. They make us jump through hoops to accept them, at the register on down to the number and variety of formulas we must have in stock at all times. If we don't have even one of these specified types they could pull our licence. It is ridiculous!
The other trend I have noticed is the go to formula that they give as default. My sister bottle fed my nieces many years ago, and used wic. Back then, the default was similac. Now, every person who comes in our store has a voucher for some variety of nestle! I do not think I have ever done a wic for any other brand, and I have been either a cashier or a bookkeeper for over 2 years. Nestle gives a whole new meaning to calling formula poison!
If you have never read the book Milk, Money and Madness you should! It will have you rethinking everything you buy to feed your family! Nestle is an evil, evil corporation and exploits uneducated, third world mothers who do not have access to clean water and makes them dependent on artificial breastmilk to feed their babies under the guise of "nurses" telling them how much better it is than breastfeeding!
Anyway, even though my children are 12, 10 and 7 and we have no plans to ever have anymore children, this is still something I feel strongly about. I cringe every time I have to sell formula to a mother with her brand new baby as if it was the normal thing to do. And then I have to stfu about it! So, I just felt the need to vent, lol.