It's so frustrating...
WIC is a *Supplemental* food program,not meant to supply ALL the food for the
participants, but some women don't get it...Some participants are so stressed
you simple would not believe....I remember how foggy I felt after having my
first baby, so I know how women who have NO support can REALLY be confused.
I've heard it said that if we didn't have WIC, there would be babies who
would starve. This isn't as impossibly far fetched as it may sound, and
though I couldn't believe it at first, after some of things I've seen at WIC,
anything is possible. One mother was feeding her infant cereal in a bottle, a
big no=no and sure to be picked up by the nutritionist who will question the
mom as to why she is doing this...This particular mom said that formula was
too expensive, the baby was too "greedy" and she had to stretch the feeds by
using cereal!  Other mothers will call us for "emergency milk"-they ran out
and their welfare social worker told them that we have milk for them! (Not
so, at least not at our site!) People hear what they want, I like to repeat
things over and over, and tell moms that it's ok if they forget something,
they can always call and ask to clarify. In fact, I tell them they WILL
forget, which of course is a kind of hypnotic suggestion to help them
remember!
Pearl Shifer, M.Ed., IBCLC
Breastfeeding Coordinator, WIC program, somewhere in NYC