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What WIC is Doing to Support Breastfeeding
The WIC Nutrition Program has a strong commitment to promote breastfeeding.
WIC serves high risk, low income women whose breastfeeding rates have
historically been less than the general population.
All pregnant women in the WIC Nutrition Program are educated about
breastfeeding as the best way to feed their baby and are encouraged to choose
breastfeeding. Women who breastfeed are provided counseling and support to
ensure their success. WIC also provides additional foods to women who
choose to exclusively breastfeed their infants.
To promote breastfeeding at the community level, WIC sponsors regional
trainings for WIC staff and other health professionals. These
trainings are conducted by experts in the fields of human lactation and
breastfeeding support. More than 400 individuals who work in WIC and other
health care settings are trained annually on the importance of promoting
breastfeeding and on how to provide breastfeeding support.
Every local WIC agency has a designated Breastfeeding Promotion Coordinator.
This individual is responsible for WIC breastfeeding promotion activities and is
the primary resource for other clinic staff.
Examples of breastfeeding promotion activities are:
- Conducting peer counseling programs. The curriculum of these
programs is designed specifically to meet the needs of WIC moms.
- Funding purchases of breast pumps and equipment needed by women who are
breastfeeding.
- Providing scholarships to allow WIC staff to become certified lactation
consultants.
- Providing funds for local agencies to sponsor community wide
breastfeeding promotion workshops.
- Participating in public events such as health fairs and World
Breastfeeding Week to improve public acceptance of breastfeeding.
- Enlisting community wide involvement in removing barriers to
breastfeeding through coalition and task force activities. Currently,
there are over 20 local coalitions active in the state.
- Developing and testing of educational materials.
- Funding statewide breastfeeding promotion training for WIC staff and
other community health staff.
- Providing funds to Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies to coordinate the
Washington State Breastfeeding Coalition.
There are many factors affecting a woman's decision to breastfeed.
These factors include medical providers' recommendations and support, hospital
procedures (such as rooming in, early initiation of breastfeeding, supplementing
breastfed infants with formula or glucose water, provision of infant formula
discharge packets), family, partner and peer support, work site issues, and the
influence of mass media. It is vital that health care providers, the work place,
and the community support a woman's choice to breastfeed.
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