You are absolutely right, Laura! And I applaud you for saying it loud and
clear on lactnet! WIC has done more to promote BFing than any other
"program" or "campaign" in the US. The BFing initiation rates (not sure
about duration) have increased more significantly among the WIC population
than any other demographic.

And you are absolutely right - until WIC is able to get those BF rates up
and keep them up, the babies need to be fed. (Rule #1, applied en masse)
Until you've seen whole populations of babies drinking Kool-Aid or soda in
their bottles, and being finger-fed margarine or cake frosting when the
formula and food stamps run out, and parents who are proud of their 4-month
old because "she just won't let me take away her bottle of root beer", it's
really easy to forget that infant formula is NOT the worst thing in the
world for babies to eat!

But we still need to keep making noise about the importance of keeping the
$$ for BF ed. & support in WIC. (See my previous post...)

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY

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