WIC, a shorter name for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, is a federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides healthcare and nutrition aid for pregnant women of low-income and their children under the age of five.
In recent years, due to cases of exodus–which rose after Hurricane María–and the descending fertility rate the Puerto Rican sector of the WIC program wanted to change the perception of who can benefit from the program so upcoming and new mothers could become knowledgeable about the helps available.
The help includes prenatal and postpartum assistance. Many new moms learn how to take care of themselves and their newborn. Let’s be real, taking care of a child isn’t as easy as it seems. No amount of fake baby projects in high school prepare you for an actual baby, which is why WIC’s lessons are very useful for hands-on action. They provide different kinds of orientations and open spaces for check-ups to guarantee a safe and healthy care system within the family.
Jeanette Canino, Executive Director of WIC in Puerto Rico, talks to well-known Puerto Rican newspaper, Primera Hora, on the new campaign: “Yo soy WIC” (I am WIC), prepared alongside the Department of Health of Puerto Rico. The campaign’s goal is to promote the accessibility of the program’s benefits for many who are qualified but haven’t signed up yet. In this campaign, five participants who are going through the program share their testimony on the experience and benefits they have received, all positive reviews on the support they have gotten from WIC. To showcase the diversity of program participants, the campaign features expecting mothers, new mothers and mothers with their toddlers, all ranging in lifestyles from professionals, to stay-at-home moms to university students. And here is where the backlash happens.
Many took to Facebook and Twitter to comment on the use of a pregnant university student, identified as Génesis Zoé Pagán Rivera, to promote the campaign. According to many users, her image apparently promoted being a “mantenida”, which is slang for someone who gets financially sustained by someone else or an institution.
Deben botar a la agencia de publicidad y al Secretario del @DeptSaludPR por anormal. #KeepCalm y #preñate porque #yosoywic #fomentandoelmantengo pic.twitter.com/kVRQ3Vzimt
— Ilych Ramírez (@ilichelchacal) 12 de agosto de 2018
Other users pointed out how happy the university student looked, as if being pregnant “at that time” is great, fun even.
La cara de la muchacha dice que todo es perfecto, que es super feliz y el WIC la apoya. Hasta cierto punto te hace pensar que estar embarazada en la universidad no es complicado. Al revés, lo hace lucir divertido.
— Ceci (@m___ceci) 13 de agosto de 2018
Génesis Zoé came forward after so much being said about her. She is currently a 22 year old mother of a little girl. She is a student who has completed her bachelor’s degree and underwent nursing school with flying colors and a Facebook blogger that wants to promote a community for new moms. She made a video that was shared on various news outlets, most notably through a Noticentro report, about how the hateful comments did sting since they rooted from assumptions about her life and misconceptions about the program. But it is also mentioned that it was a pregnancy she was proud to have, a journey she was happy to share and simply wanted to help promote a program who has helped in the nurturing of her child. This brings us back to the fact people judge her for even smiling, as if then 21-year-old student had to appear miserable because there was no way to be happy with your motherhood at that age.
Of course, a lot of people defended what the campaign stood for and supported Génesis Zoé amidst all the hate. After all, it was a reality that shouldn’t have to be hidden or looked down upon: a student might get pregnant and they have all the right to access the services that aid both mother and child in any case they do. The defenders acknowledged how the program works and what it does and praised them for their effective work. Some even used the backlash as an argument against the haters themselves, with points such as people being pro-life but not wanting expecting young moms to get federal assistance by looking down upon them. Which makes a very valid point argument-wise.
In the same Noticentro report previously mentioned, reporters interview Jeanette Canino, Executive Director of WIC in PR, who comes in defense of Génesis Zoé and other student+moms. She explains that the intention of the program is not to invite students to get pregnant, but rather to let them know that in any case they do get pregnant, they have somewhere to go to. The program does not promote the image of a “mantenida”, but rather goes in-depth into a child’s growth. A healthy mother means a healthy baby which will eventually grow into a healthy child and so on, and WIC is there to help mothers those first years.
In the end, there’s still a lot to talk about in regard of how Puerto Ricans see pregnant women, especially young ones. There has been a certain negative image created that links young mothers to being a “mantenida”, that it’s a miserable and shameful thing to be and do. But, here’s the catch: a woman might get pregnant, and she has every right to get what she needs for her child and herself (mom bods need love and care too). Taking advantage of the health and care benefits she might qualify for does not make her a “mantenida”, it actually makes her a responsible parent looking after their child’s healthy development.