In response
to the growing issue of malnutrition amongst low income families in the 1960’s,
the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC) was authorized on September 26, 1972. The program was originally created to provide supplemental foods
to pregnant women, and pre-school aged children. In 1978, the program evolved
to include not only supplemental foods, but also nutrition education and
referrals to health services. Concern over the
extremely low breastfeeding rates in the late 1980’s lead to a shift in the
services WIC provided. New food packages were offered
to mothers who exclusively breastfed their infants to incentivize the decision
to breastfeed. WIC began to recognize how important
breastfeeding is to the health and nutrition of both the mother and the baby,
and began providing lactation education and support to participants (Full history obtained from Oliveira, Racine, Olmsted, & Ghelfi, 2002). Flash forward to 2015, WIC has implemented a variety of programs that promote and support breastfeeding in the community. With an emphasis on health and nutrition, WIC understands the importance of breastfeeding, and the positive impact it has on maternal and child health.
In order to
support breastfeeding mothers, WIC offers:
Ø “Food Packages” that incentivize
breastfeeding
Ø Prenatal Breastfeeding Education
Ø Peer to peer support in the form of
the “Peer Counseling Program” and “Breastfeeding Support Groups”
Ø Individual breastfeeding support by
lactation professionals including Certified Lactation Educators/Counselors
(CLE/CLC), and Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs)
Ø
Breast
pumps (manual, electric, and hospital grade) for mothers returning to work or school, and for mothers
whose baby requires intensive care in a hospital NICU
In addition,
the WIC program has more recently adopted the “Regional Breastfeeding Liaison”
program. Regional Breastfeeding Liaisons work in the community to promote
breastfeeding and assist all organizations that work with breastfeeding mothers
in being able to better support their clients/patients. 
WIC’s strong
support of breastfeeding has often filled in where other facets of support are
lacking in our society. In our current culture, we have the lost the
breastfeeding “Sisterhood”, and women may not have family or friends who can
provide breastfeeding help. Laura Jason, an Internationally Board Certified
Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) for the WIC program, states, “The prenatal
education WIC provides counteracts the lack of breastfeeding knowledge in
the community. At WIC, each mother learns the impact of breastfeeding on both
her health and her baby’s health. She is encouraged to set a personal
goal, and to assess her family and friends’ abilities to help her achieve that
goal. In the postpartum period, we help her understand normal newborn behavior
and how to know her baby is getting enough to eat while she is exclusively
breastfeeding. Sometimes, there are concerns about breastfeeding or barriers to
achieving her goal. At WIC, we offer new options and extra tools to allow
her to continue to work toward her breastfeeding goal.” Margaret Jegede, a WIC
Nutrition Educator/Certified Lactation Specialist, talks about the importance
of WIC led breastfeeding support groups. She states, “The breastfeeding support
group is like a small village where breastfeeding moms of different ages
and cultural backgrounds share ideas, and help encourage those who do not have
support or have the confidence to be successful in nursing their babies.
Pregnant woman attend to prepare for baby’s arrival. The support group serves
as an open forum to express concerns and troubleshoot obstacles in
breastfeeding. Ongoing support is very crucial in assuring breastfeeding
success. As a result, WIC is seeing an increase in breastfeeding rates among
women from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.”
It is currently estimated that half of all babies born in California participate in the WIC program; a large subset of the population. Until our whole culture shifts to one that accommodates breastfeeding because it is the best source of nutrition for babies, WIC will be there providing support and advocating for change along the way!
Reference:
Oliveira, V., Racine, E., Olmsted, J., and Ghelfi, L.M. (2002). The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Issues. Chapter 2. Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. (FANRR-27) 44, pp 7-12. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/327914/fanrr27c_1_.pdf
