Susan Burger wrote:
>In reality, every really good economic study I've ever read shows that the
reason why WIC succeeds is that it is an INCOME TRANSFER program. The money
funneled through the formula industry would actually be less if you just
gave the money to the women to make their own decisions.  This has been
replicated with studies of famine situations.  It would be far more cost
effective just to give people money to purchase what they need than to ship
surplus agricultural products from developed countries.<

I understand that WIC originally started as a way to use the surplus food
that farmers grew for government subsidies. Even in the 80s and early 90s,
WIC participants were sometimes given bonus packages of surplus good, like
butter, because the alternative would have been to dump it. I clearly
remember visiting with a friend who begged me to take some of her milk
home. Her family was being given far more than they could consume
(especially since both her little ones were still nursing!) but she was
obliged to buy it if she wanted other WIC benefits - it was a package deal.

In the early 90s I was employed by Steuben-Allegany WIC to train and
supervise Peer Counselors, and teach pregnant and nursing  WIC participants
about breastfeeding. In a period of two years we raised the breastfeeding
initiation rate from 18% to 63%, mostly just by telling mothers that they
COULD breastfeed and showing them HOW to do it. Soon after our stats came
out, a big-wig came to see what we were doing, and interviewed me. Her main
concern was how quickly I could work myself out of a job - how many Peer
Counselors needed to be trained and how quickly this could be achieved. She
did not seem to understand that the PCs needed constant supervision and
ongoing training, and that the drop-out rate was high. At that time, our
PCs were not being paid, as they are today.

Moving on..I am waiting for details, but I just heard that apparently WIC
is now concerned that some of the PCs are *overtrained.* Because they have
been taking advantage of the current WIC programs which encourage them to
continue their lactation education and earn CLC and even IBCLC
qualifications,  they may no longer be considered *peers.*

What the right hand gives, the left hand takes away :(


Norma Ritter, IBCLC, RLC
Breastfeeding Matters in the Capital Region
www.NormaRitter.com
Join us on Facebook for the latest birthing and breastfeeding news and
views:
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