Keshia Knight Pulliam’s high-profile pregnancy was one of the biggest stories of last year as the former mother to be was embroiled in a controversial financial and custody battle with her husband, Ed Hartwell, over their daughter, Ella Grace. With so much going on throughout Pulliam’s pregnancy, it comes as little surprise that her daughter’s birth came with a bit of controversy as well as reports claiming that a hospital staff member mistook Pulliam for an impoverished mother.
As previously reported, Pulliam gave birth to Ella on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 and shared pics of her newborn daughter with the world shortly after.
However, in the latest episode of her “Kandidly Keshia” podcast, which she posted this weekend, Pulliam revealed that while she was in the hospital after giving birth, an elderly lactation specialist at the facility mistook her for an impoverished mother and tried to give her advice on financial assistance programs.
“Bless this old little lady’s heart. This old little white lady…she’s like about 70 years old,” Pulliam said before explaining that the woman handed her a hospital pamphlet and then turned to a page with “about 30 different numbers and resources” for mothers and told her, “We have some great programs that you may want to take advantage of that you may need. Um, WIC is a great program.”
For those that don’t know, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides basic nutritional needs to low-income pregnant women, new mothers and children up to age 5 who live at or below the poverty line.
“So I guess she saw this little Black girl with the little baby by herself and on the door–I didn’t realize that they’d put like a faux last name and the last name was Brown,” Pulliam continued. “–zo I guess she saw ‘Miss. Brown’ and was like, ‘She probably needs some WIC.’ So she said, ‘Yes, WIC is…an amazing program that you may want to take advantage of and I don’t know if you have insurance-‘ That’s when I stopped her. I said, ‘Ma’am, I have excellent insurance but thank you.'”
Although WIC is a great program for mothers in need, Pulliam certainly is not a woman who qualifies for or needs the program. What do you think of Pulliam being mistaken for a mother in need? Let us know in the comments.
