Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding Support

Women in our WIC program receive breastfeeding education and individual follow-up support through a WIC peer counselor. Breastfeeding provides many health, nutritional, economical and emotional benefits to mother and baby. Since a major goal of the WIC Program is to improve the nutritional status of infants, WIC mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their babies for the first year of life. 

 WIC benefits for breastfeeding mothers:

• Breastfeeding counseling and support by trained lactation counselors.
• Breastfeeding mothers are eligible to participate in WIC longer than non-breastfeeding mothers.
  
• Mothers who breastfeed their infants receive additional food benefits for themselves and their babies.
  
• Breastfeeding mothers can receive breast pumps and/or supplies to help support the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding when returning to work or school.

 Additional breastfeeding information:

Human milk is a superior food source for feeding babies. Human milk and the act of breastfeeding itself provide many advantages to general health and development of the baby.  Babies that are breastfed have decreased risk of illness and chronic disease throughout their life. There are short and long term benefits for the mother.  It has been shown that breastfeeding women have less postpartum bleeding and delayed menstrual periods.  Women who breastfed their babies have less ovarian and breast cancers and postmenopausal hip fractures.