Assessment of the Pregnancy/ Breastfeeding Nutritional Allowance

According to the Government of Canada (2009), pregnant individuals require an additional 2-3 Food Guide servings each day as well at 0.4mg of folic acid and 16-20mg of iron daily. Following these recommendations, this $40 allowance is expected to supplement the cost of about 90 servings/month and a multivitamin containing folic acid and iron. I do not believe that this nutritional allowance would adequately supplement the food expenses that a pregnant or breast/chest feeding individual will experience while trying to follow the nutritional guidelines from Health Canada. To justify this, I used the Walmart and No-Frills website to find $40 of food that aligns with the Canadian Food Guide servings and recommendations. A Centrum prenatal multivitamin containing folic acid and iron costs individuals ~$6/month (Walmart, 2022); 8 servings of yogurt is ~$5, 5 serving of chicken is ~$10; 6 servings of eggs is ~$3; 15 servings of bread is ~$3; 4 servings of spinach is ~$4; 4 servings of apples is ~$4; 4 servings of avocado is ~$5 (No-Frills, 2022). Therefore, according to this example, just 46 Canadian Food Guide servings cost the entire $40 monthly nutritional allowance, not coming even close to the 90 additional servings recommended each month for pregnant and chest/breast feeding people (Government of Canada, 2020).

The Pregnancy/Breast-Feeding Nutritional Allowance (nutritional allowance) permits pregnant or breast/chest feeding individuals a monthly allowance to help supplement the cost of additional nutritional needs of a pregnant or breast/chest feeding person so long as they meet the necessary requirements (Ontario Works Directives, 2013). The pregnant or breast/chest feeding individual must apply for, or already receive social assistance to be eligible for the nutritional (Ontario Works Directives, 2013). Other eligibility requirements include, but are not limited to, the pregnancy being confirmed by a health professional and the breast/chest fed infant not exceeding 12 months of age (Ontario Works Directives, 2013). The maximum amount provided is $40/month or $50/month if the pregnant person requires a lactose intolerant diet that has been approved by a health professional (Ontario Works Directives, 2013).

In addition to the allowance not being sufficient to support pregnant and chest/breast feeding people, there are also barriers to accessing it in the first place, and then following its guidelines. I will discuss just two of these barriers. It is a requirement that people who apply for the allowance are already receiving social assistance (Ontario Works Directives, 2013). Those who are just shy the cut-off to qualify for social assistance likely are not able to afford to eat according to the Canadian Food Guide, and therefore would benefit from the nutritional benefit but are not able to access it (Ontario, 2021). Additionally, the allowance is only available up until and including the 12th month of the infant’s life (Ontario Works Directives, 2013), suggesting that the parent stops chest/breast feeding at after that time due to lack of support, however this is a direct contradiction to the Canadian recommendation of sustaining chest/breast feeding for up to 2 years and beyond (Government of Canada, 2021).

I think that the nutritional benefit as it is presented now should not be extended to support people who formula feed, but instead a different allowance should be created to supplement the costs associated with formula feeding. There are individual circumstances as to why a parent may choose not to sustain chest/breast feeding or begin it in the first place, including but not limited to trauma, decreased milk supply, chest/breast feeding aversion (BAA), and dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER) (Malone, 2022). For these reasons and others, the parent would have to purchase formula and the required supplies, therefore there should be an allowance to supplement the cost.

As a doula, it is essential that I am aware of the requirements and guidelines of the Pregnancy/Breast-Feeding Nutritional Allowance so I can accurately communicate the necessary information to my clients. It is also important to understand that every circumstance will be different; some families may not qualify, others will qualify but it will not be enough to help them, and others may need assistance in physically purchasing heathy food to support pregnancy and/or chest/breast feeding in accordance with the Canadian Food Guide. I will also spend time researching other programs or services that are available to families in the reproductive stage of their lives. I would like to be a resource that families can come to not just for physical and emotional support, but for informational support as well. I will remember to be sensitive when discussing these topics with clients as some people may be embarrassed or apprehensive, and I would never want bias or judgement to come across in our conversation.

References

Government of Canada. (2020). Canada’s food guide: healthy food choices. https://foodguide.canada.ca/en/healthy-food-choices/

Government of Canada (2021). Chapter 6: breastfeeding. https://www.canada.ca/en/publichealth/services/publications/healthy-living/maternity-newborn-care-guidelines-chapter6.html

Government of Canada. (2009). Prenatal nutrition guidelines for health professionals background on Canada’s food guide. https://www.canada.ca/en/healthcanada/services/publications/food-nutrition/prenatal-nutrition-guidelines-healtprofessionals-background-canada-food-guide-2009.html

Malone, C. (2022). [Lecture notes on advanced feeding]. Doula Studies, Fanshawe College.

No Frills (2022). https://www.nofrills.ca/

Ontario (2021). Social assistance. https://www.ontario.ca/page/social-assistance

Ontario Works Directives. (2013). Pregnancy/breast-feeding nutritional allowance legislative authority. https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/documents/en/mcss/social/directives/ow/0605.pdf

Walmart (2022). Centrum prenatal multivitamin supplement tablets, 100 count.     https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/centrum-prenatal-complete-multivitamin-and-mineralsupplement/6000187517608cmpid=AF_CA_1680615_1&utm_source=rakuten&utm_edium=affiliate&utm_campaign=always_on&utm_content=10&utm_id=AF_CA_168065_1&siteID=jo_pTdthTucVjU.RjYsQ2yEPJ4xMCudBA&wmlspartner=jo%2FpTdthTuc