WIC Mom, American Samoa

“As a young woman who was still in college with no job, I had no responsibility and a carefree attitude that any young adult would have, but little did I know how much change was about to happen in my life. At the age of 20 I became pregnant with my first child, a whole new part of life that I was not prepared for. During my first trimester my mother informed me about a nutrition program that could benefit not just me, but my unborn child as well. Coming into the WIC office, I was greeted by friendly faces and was able to apply right away. Being on WIC as a pregnant mother, especially a mother who wasn’t working at the time, was a huge help to me not only financially but nutritionally as well. I was able to get fruits and vegetables, juice, milk, fish and so much more all for a healthier me and a healthy baby. When baby was born WIC encouraged me to breastfeed my child and taught me the importance of breastfeeding and its benefits. Because of the help of WIC and their encouragements to breastfeed, my baby grew strong and was rarely sick. I am now a mother of three beautiful girls, and all three of them have had the pleasure of being on WIC. WIC has helped us to make healthier decisions. Because of WIC my girls prefer WIC-approved cereal over sugared cereal and because WIC got my girls started on vegetables at such a young age, till this day they still love to eat their fruits and vegetables and still enjoy the taste of WIC-approved cereal! Being on the WIC program has helped me and my children so much, and I am thankful for a program that encourages breastfeeding and promotes healthy eating. I would strongly suggest WIC to any woman who is expecting or has children/child, because WIC’s ultimate goal of healthy-eating children really does make a difference in the long run. THANK YOU to the American Samoa WIC Program for being awesome and making a huge impact on me and my girls lives!”

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