First of all my 6 kids want to know how to sign-up for COLIC.At times they
feel like they are the only kids who's mother does this kind of work. When
asked what I do for a living the usual reply is she works for WIC. End of
answer. When my last child was in kindergarten she would tell people I went
to work and bf peoples babies,we got that straightened out and her reply is
mom works with babies . So you can see that they all need to belong to
COLIC. My husband said a support group for partners would not be a bad idea.
     Now for the serious side. I am the breastfeeding educator for a WIC
clinic in Oregon. Debbie Vandermey is our state coordinator, Iwould like to
add to her comments. BF is my priority,besides certifying clients for the
program (about 14  a day) I usually counsel 3 to 4 bf clients in phone or
person daily. I teach 3breastfeeing classes and 2 support groups monthly. We
host  a monthly LLL meeting for the community and our clients. Manual m----a
pumps , infant feeding cups and breast shells are available to the clients.
Despite all the services available the clients who choose to bf are still
low in numbers,but improving slowly. Please consider that the statistics
show that our clients tend to be in a lower educational and economic class
and are less likely to bf. In my community I am the only service available
to women with out health insurance and those with limited coverage for
lactatiion services.
      I agree that being the largest purchaser of infant formula is nothing
to be proud of, but until there are definite cultural and medical changes in
our society this will be a fact of life.WIC is not the only institution
providing formula to new moms. I would love to see every child bf but until
that day part of my job is to see that bottlefeed infants are feed safely
and with love from the parent or careprovider. Treat WIC kindly we are doing
the best job possible in a culture which is not friendly to bf. Our mission
is to improve the nutrition of pregnant and bf women,infants and children
through supplemental food and nutritional education. If you have any doubts
look at what the studies show has happen since 1973 when the program started.
     That was a big soap box!! NOw I am asking for help from lactnetters in
Oregon. Today at work I recieved my third call in the last 6 months from a
client that was harrassed for bf in public. The business told her that it
was the policy of the county's sanitation laws,beside being lewd and dirty.
This young woman and her mother does not want to let this one rest. Isn't
about time that Oregon pass a law similar to the others that guarantee a
woman's right to bf in public? By the way someone from Enviromental Health
will visit the business and explain that there are no laws in our county
about bf in public.
Let me know what you think. THis would be a step in the right direction to
normalizing bf in our society.

Pat Gorman CLE
For those who asked a CLE is a certified lactation educator.I plan to use
those initials until I get enough clinical hours and take the exam. At that
time I will be proud to switch to IBCLC.