Comments on: WIC: Killing children with kindness

By: joe

joe — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:11:52 +0000

If you can’t afford to feed a baby maybe you shouldn’t be such a tramp and keep your legs closed!!!!!

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:28:56 +0000

Does WIC take into consideration the income, plus any expenses you have like daycare, a mortgage, groceries, utilities, light bill, etc when they make the decision to whether you qualify or not? All those bills add up.

By: j

Sun, 02 May 2010 16:43:49 +0000

you got a good point never thought about that! I’m sorry I hate this program, people need to learn to close their legs if you dont want to get pregnant use condoms or the pill, it pisses me off that we have to pay for these low lifes.

By: Family Planning

Family Planning — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:25:15 +0000

Kevin, why did you and your wife bring a child into the world when you were so poor and couldn’t afford one?

By: Ashleigh

Ashleigh — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:18:20 +0000

I totally agree that wic should not offer formula. They should try to promote breastfeeding by boycotting formula. But what can you expect from a government program? A healthy America is not in their best interest. I understand if you are physically unable to breastfeed.. or it is medically impossible.. But if you have to work 2 jobs and don’t have time to do whats scientifically proven to be whats best for your child.. Then WHY do you have children? Why have a child, then pump them full of formula, inject them with mercury filled deathly vaccines, then ship em off to daycare when they’re 3 months old.. then dump them off at public school so their education ( or lack thereof) can cause the cycle to repeat? What has happened to this country?I have a 18 month old daughter who is breastfeeding and I also have a 4 year old son who was breastfed until he was 3. He has never had a vaccine. He also is at a first grade level and has never had a ear infection, a fever even, and i am pregnant and plan to do the same. Its just hidden in plain sight to me.. And i am only 21! I guess I should be thankful my mom was a hippie. lol

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:45:37 +0000

I have a 13 month old and was on WIC before she was born. I tried and tried and tried to breastfeed her with no success. It was a totally frustrating process for me and for her because all she did was cry. We tried lactation consultants in the hospital, nipple shields, pumping…everything possible. Nothing worked. I simply couldn’t produce enough milk. I would spend 30 minutes pumping and would get 1/2-1 ounce of milk from only one side. The church where I work even bought me a breast pump to help and would have been totally supportive if I wanted to pump at work since I was able to bring her to work with me. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t produce enough milk. All I wanted to do was breastfeed my daughter. At her 2 day checkup, she had lost 15% of her birthweight and my doctor said she wasn’t getting enough to eat and that I had to supplement with formula. I continued pumping and was at least giving her 1-2 ounces of breastmilk daily. More pumping didn’t help. WIC supported my decision and gave me additional supplements and formula since my doctor insisted for her health she needed forumla too. What was more frustrating was the fact that I totally breastfed my 12 year old son until he was 4 months and then began formula and eventually he was totally on formula at around 6 months. What should have been a joyous time was tempered by the fact that everytime she wanted to eat, she would spend the first 10 minutes crying because she couldn’t get any milk from me. We even tried giving her an ounce of formula first to take the tinge off and then offer her the breast, and it seemed to help, but then the doctor told me to offer her the breast first. That was a disaster. After I took his advice, she didn’t want anything to do with it at all and would just cry from frustration. I finally gave up and just pumped without offering her the breast at all. I was comfortable but depressed at the same time because I knew she was at least getting 1-2 ounces a day. But it just took such a long time to just even get that small amount of milk. Very frustrating.

WIC has been a big help to my family. My husband and I both work and we just don’t make enough to really live without struggling. We don’t get any other programs, only WIC. For a couple of months before my husband had surgery, his income had gone up some and we made just a bit over the allowed amount for 4 people, but now his income has dramatically dropped since he had his surgery. I am re-applying for WIC…my appt is next week.

Not everyone can breastfeed. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. My sister had very similar circumstance to mine with her 2 kids. It just doesn’t work for everyone.

By: Bethany

Bethany — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:51:31 +0000

A woman working two jobs trying to make ends meet cannot breastfeed. Pumping every two hours, let alone affording a pump, is not possible for most women. Whether you can or can’t breastfeed doesn’t matter when you have to immediately return to work. Some people think breastfeeding is a simple process of putting nipple to mouth, but it is much more complicated than that, as can be proved by the millions of women with cracked and bleeding nipples right now. If your child must use formula during the day, breastfeeding at night can become very difficult due to nipple confusion and lower milk supply. Men who have no idea what breast-feeding is about shouldn’t tell women what they should and shouldn’t do. It is patronizing and infuriating as well as reminiscent of millions of times throughout history that women and their needs have been ignored due to lack of understanding by the men who ruled over them. Many women now have to work outside their homes, and as long as that is so, many women will not be able to completely breastfeed if at all depending on the hours they work. Do you get 30 minute breaks every two hours at your job? If you do, then you’re not working at the minimum wage jobs these families are.

By: Anna B.

Anna B. — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:19:54 +0000

I am on WIC with this pregnancy; I was on it for my last one as well. All I have to say is thank God for WIC. My first pregnancy was unplanned and we ended up having the twins at 32 weeks because of health issues. I could not work and my husband didn’t make enough to pay for formula. I couldn’t breastfeed because I didn’t make enough milk for two babies…not even enough for one baby…, and my babies needed to be on a special formula because they were premature. If we didn’t have WIC I would hate to think what would have happened to them. With this pregnancy I was not eligable for WIC because I was working, and when they laid me off I once again had to get back on it so we could afford to feed this baby. I am really offended by some people on here who think that WIC is for people who are bums and don’t try. I suggest those of you who think that way take a good look at the people who are actually using WIC. We pay taxes just like you do.

By: Alexis

Alexis — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:10:19 +0000

I am so disgusted that anyone would be opposed to the government helping those in need with babies. You pigs! That is why we pay taxes; you should just hope you never fall on financially difficult times so that you never have to eat your arrogant words.

I’m a new mother who wanted to exclusively breastfeed, and guess what, it never worked out for me. My son is 3 months old. I took breastfeeding classes, hired lactation consultants, and talked with doctors and nurses. I’ve been renting a hospital grade pump and purchased a very expensive electronic pump. I’m not that financial stable; I’m still paying off these things.

I try to use the expert advice I received in attempt to nurse every day. I have never been successful. I have been pumping since my son was 4 days old, when I originally resorted to pumping and feeding him with the bottle so he didn’t starve. And guess what, my nipples are still cracked, bruised, and bleed. They have blood blisters. I can’t hold my son unless I have breast pads and a thick bra on to protect them from ANY contact. I regularly feel like I am at my wits end trying to pump to keep up with my son’s increasing demand for food. But pumping isn’t a natural way to express breast milk, and it takes at least twice as long as breastfeeding.

Can you imagine feeding your son for twenty minutes, and then being hooked up to a milking machine for 40 minutes to an hour 8 to 12 times a day? You think that offering formula to low-income families is some kind of sin? Give me a break. What about women who aren’t able to produce milk? Should they just not have the right to have a child? Think about what you’re saying. Perhaps many people abuse the service, but that’s no reason to not offer it to those who need it.

Every day I consider throwing in the towel because this is both physically and emotionally painful. How dare you judge what you can not comprehend. If I had to go back to work, there is no way I could have the time to pump my son’s every meal. As a mother who does this for the sole benefit of giving her son every chance in life, I feel guilty enough without the judgement of ignorant, uninformed people.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:13:46 +0000

What some people fail to realize is that not all women with children lack a husband. Some families simply do not have the resources to afford everything they need do to extenuating circumstances (such as companies being downsized, family emergencies that take up a great amount of money, etc.) so WIC also provides help to these people as well. Seriously, there are certain guidelines that people must follow to even qualify for WIC, it isn’t like they just hand it over to anyone and it’s your choice whether you join. Abolishing the program will only create a society that cannot afford to take care of their own starving children. Anyone, breastfeeding is always a choice, some people are more comfortable with it than others and WIC understands that idea. Anyway, WIC isn’t an entitlement program because there are not funds set aside for everyone eligible, it’s a federal grant program (yeah, like the pell grant you can get to go to college – same thing) that only has so much money for it each year and once it’s gone that concludes the amount of people that will recieve that help.

Also, with breastfeeding – that’s totally you’re decision and your decision alone. Some people it would be better for them not to based on common factors like health. That’s totally your decision. In my experience there is not a great deal of difference between children that were and children that weren’t breastfeed. I know plenty from both sides with similar family backgrounds which are well adjusted and successful so it’s really the parents’ choice, as long as it’s made wisely.