Maria Blogs

I am a big supporter of the WIC Program (Women, Infant and Children Program), a federal agency which helps low income families lead healthy lives through nutrition counseling and stipend for basic nutrition needs for pregnant, new moms and children.

I was on WIC while I was pregnant and until the baby was around 15 month. The federal program was a big help with nutrition counseling and providing stipend which helped a lot in buying basic nutritional  needs for me and infant formula for the baby.

I am happy to know that WIC is now being implemented in all states and currently offer different plany designed to encourage breast feeding. Whereas before, there is but one plan which calls for underwriting checks that includes a set number of infant formula whether the baby is exclusively breastfed, mixed feeding or formula fed.

The new WIC program cuts down allowance allocated for baby formula by 13% whether you are partially or exclusively formula feeding. I was formula feeding only 40% of the time but my checks still provided for 4 cans of Nestle Good Start a month (based on the calculation that a 100% formula fed  infant uses up a can a wek). I ended up with unused checks that WIC faults me and raises a red flag as to whether we should still qualify for WIC (of course we did! It wasn’t just the formula we had on the check after all).

Nevertheless, though this is a good and worthy plan to encourage breastfeeding to new moms – breastfeeding is estimated to reduce financial cost of having a baby by around $2,000 – there are still circumstances when moms just had to exclusively feed their babies with infant formula. And with the reduction of said allowance makes it financially difficult for moms who already belong to the low income group

I wonder why, instead of reducing the allowance for baby formula,why not offer alternative product specifications apart from Nestle Good Start which tends to be on the highe price range for baby milk? Like my WIC counselor used to tell me, I didn’t have to cash in my infant formula checks if I am not using those powdered milk most of the time, but at the same time, what about those that really need that check and the help to buy powdered milk for the baby freeing the mom to buy somethin nutritional for the rest of the family?

Why is it that WIC allow a gazillion variety for cereals, cow’s milk and juice but not for baby formula? The FDA is very strict in the nutrition content of powdered milk sold in the US market, that I imagine, something like Parent’s Choice (exclusively available at WalMart) offering the same product specificatons at half the price of Nestle Good Start – Parent’s Choice is priced at $11.88 per can as opposed to Good start’s $24-$28 price range – on the check will still offer 100% allowance at less cost to moms who need it.

Good Start and Parent’s choice both have DHA and ARA. I’m not too sure if Nestle offer organic but Parent’s Choice does at $14.97 a can (also DHA and ARA fortified). I do realize that the current WIC Program supports and encourages breastfeeding for moms, so for those that are mixed feeding and your checks come up short on infant formula, or those not under WIC, here’s another choice for you to consider. Yes, exclusively at WalMart.

Why do we really need to buy the more expensive brand? A little tweet in my ear once told me, this one local (based in the Philippines that is) company manufactures two brands of powedered milk for toddlers, one is high end and the other “masa” (for lower income bracket), but both have the exact nutritional content. Why the price difference? The difference lies in the attached perceived value of each brand name.