Poverty and Motherhood: Part 1, “Pregnant While Poor”

This is the stereotypical image of a “welfare mother.”

(Image Source: colorlines.com)

This is the ACTUAL image of a “welfare mother.”

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This is a photo of me, the NSJ founder, and my grandmother, taken after the birth of my oldest daughter.  My family began receiving food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid in 1997, when I became pregnant for the first time.  Even though my husband was employed full-time, the money he made working at a fast food restaurant was barely enough to pay the rent on our one-bedroom apartment.  After the birth of my second child in 2000, I also received childcare assistance in order to return to work full time.

Admittedly, my ex-husband and I didn’t always make the best life choices.  Fortunately, I learned from those mistakes, divorced my ex, and went on to graduate from nursing school.  The intelligence, creativity, and talent of my three children continues to amaze me every day.  I know that the nutritious food that was provided during their gestational period, infancy, and early years had a direct effect on the development of their brains.  The access to healthcare, vaccinations, and treatment for childhood illnesses made it possible for them to attend school instead of staying home sick.  I have no doubt that without the public assistance my family received, my oldest child would not have scored a 28 on the ACT, the middle child would not be an honor roll student who played clarinet in the all-county band, and the youngest child would not have been reading at a middle school level in the second grade.

There is a strong social stigma surrounding welfare benefits, and an extremely inaccurate stereotype.  Women who receive welfare are categorized in certain media outlets as lazy, promiscuous, entitled, dependent and weak. They are portrayed as spending frivolously on luxuries instead of necessities, or trying to get “something for nothing.” The inaccurate image makes it easier for politicians to reduce funding for food stamp programs, such as the cuts that went into effect earlier this year. This type of thinking is part of a greater philosophy that any young woman who has the nerve to get herself knocked up, especially out of wedlock, should be punished for her behavior, along with any resulting offspring.  It is the same philosophy that believes a pregnant woman should be forced to carry every pregnancy to term, so that she may experience the consequences of her sinful behavior, along with the child to whom she gives birth.

In reality, the average woman of child-bearing age who receives SNAP benefits is a single mother of two children, and has a full-time job.  The average recipient family spends less in every category than average families who do not receive welfare.

(Image Source: The Atlantic)

Many welfare recipients are attending college.  I know this, because I went to nursing school with them.  (If you have never tried to raise children on your own while working and going to school, know this: it is nearly impossible to do without help of some kind.)

Some of these women married the wrong man, or were victims of abuse, or simply became pregnant because they thought it was a good idea at the time.  However, regardless of the reason, “pregnant while poor” is not a crime, and a child is not a punishment.  Cutting funding for SNAP benefits literally takes food out of the mouths of pregnant women and children.

It’s time to dispel the image of the “welfare queen.”  If you are now receiving, or have ever received, SNAP benefits, send us your pictures on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #iamawelfaremom.  Send us your selfies with your children, or from work or class, or even volunteering in the community. Maybe if we show America what a welfare mom really looks like, it will be more difficult to take food away from our children.