I have tremendous respect for my clients.  I have worked for WIC my
entire LC-career - 11 years now - and in my opinion this is the best,
most rewarding, most interesting population a Lactation Consultant in
the U.S. could serve.  These are women, many of them, in truly difficult
circumstances.  I could list some of those difficulties but I'm sure
that's not necessary. Yet in the midst of all this, and while being
offered by the government FREE FORMULA for the entire year....they want
to breastfeed.  Some (a minority, to be sure) of these women have so
many other things to worry about that, honestly, one would be hard
pressed to blame them if they gave in and took the free formula.  I
can't say that had I been in their circumstances when I was a new mother
that I would have had the courage or the strength to walk away from the
free ride and breastfeed.

And yet so many of them do.  I admire them for that, among other things.

This is also the most grateful population one could serve.  If you serve
a WIC mom well, she is deeply grateful to you.

Between how gratifying it is to serve WIC moms, and the breadth and
depth of cases/professional situations one encounters, I can't imagine
preferring another setting (i.e., non-public-health) for my career. Give
me a poor mom over a rich one any day of the week :-)

That's not to say that I'm above taking a better-paying job :-)....but I
wouldn't be as happy, as gratified, as fascinated or as fulfilled...
 

Regina M. Roig-Romero, BS IBCLC 
Senior Lactation Consultant 
Miami-Dade County Health Dept WIC/Nutrition 
Breastfeeding Program 
7785 NW 48 ST, Suite 300 
Miami FL 33166 

(786) 336-1333 x162 
(786) 336-1345 fax 
(786) 336-1336 Breastfeeding Helpline 

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