At 01:46 PM 1/10/97 -0800, you wrote:
>> some really "helpful" woman have been
>> telling her that WIC will give her formula...
>
>Many WIC people on LactNet, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't WIC
>provide food coupons for mom as long as she is BFing? In other words,
>mom *also* can eat (food obtained from WIC coupons) as long as she BFs;
>if she doesn't BF, baby will be fed (formula) but not mom (no more WIC
>coupons for her). Has this changed? Is it different according to each
>WIC location?


You have it correct regarding the coupons.  I am currently subcontracted
with a local WIC - I am trying to encourage them to breastfeed - along with
the staff at WIC and then do follow up and help with any problems they may
have.  I have found it is much more than just breastfeeding questions.  It
is also talking about when will baby sleep through the night.  How much baby
naps.  How often baby eats - and other general mothering questions.  I have
been excited because there have been some mothers who were encouraged to
breastfeed and are exclusively doing so.  Some of them ran into problems and
because they could get help - provided by WIC - they have continued to
breastfeed - I think it is a great program for them.  They will also provide
a manual pump if mother needs to be away from baby for school, work or some
other reason.  They have also been furnishing a small tube of Lan****h.  The
staff at WIC here made homemade washable nursing pads for the mothers as well.

The hardest thing for me lately has been that some of these mothers do not
have telephones which makes follow up very hard for them.  Luckily I have a
beeper so I tell them if they need to talk to me to beep me when they are
near a phone so I can call them back.

I had a consult with a WIC mother just the other night.  She had written out
her feelings about her situation.  She had exclusively breastfed for two
weeks and then thought her baby wasn't satisfied and started using ABM to
supplement.  Well you can guess what happened - before long her supply had
dropped and now about half of what baby gets is ABM.  She wrote about
feeling guilty and wanting to do right by her daughter.  But she had really
felt that she didn't get to bond with the baby because she wasn't allowed to
even hold her baby until three hours later - she had a C-section.  She felt
her husband got to bond but not her.  She had waited 10 years to have this
baby and then was feeling so much guilt regarding the whole situation.  My
job that night was not only breastfeeding support and information but
support of her as a mother and dealing with all of her disappointments.
Remember too ladies - feelings are neither right nor wrong - she can't help
the way she feels.  But we can help them deal with the feelings and move
from that point forward.

Gosh I love doing this job - it is so much fun!!!!!

I hope WIC sees the value of having me work for them and continues this
program - we are on short contract basis at this point - as money is
available you know.

Rose Marie Straeter
Evansville, IN