I have read with interest the posts concerning WIC.  I think each clinic
may have their own problems but I do believe that some of the major problems
are quite universal.  My clinic does have a newly formed breastfeeding
support group and we held our 5'th meeting last night.  What I heard from
these clients is that they feel like they are not    treated as well as the
bottlefeeding clientele.  They said that they had to remind the clerks that
they were "exclusively bf" and therefore entitled to the tuna and carrots.
 None of these moms wanted to ask for the additional voucher, made them feel
like they were asking for a hand-out.  When they did ask though, they were
told by clerks that they could change their package on their next visit; I
guess it was too much trouble to issue one extra voucher.  I was told by one
mom that when she took her 6 mos. infant in to be recertified that the
nutritionist told her she was starving her baby, since she had only been
nursing, not feeding the baby "real food".  In my clinic, there is obviously
room for bf education in every area.  I can't be there to sign the clients up
for WIC, issue vouchers, do the health checks and teach the classes.  IMHO,
if bottlefeeding is the standard that is considered normal in my clinic, I
think it is doomed to stay that way.  When I approach my director with my
concerns, I am told  "Not everyone who works here is going to support bf like
you do".  Why not?????  WIC has a position paper on supporting bf.  Is it
only worth the paper it is written on???  I am not sure what the best way to
do massive bf education is.  Does anyone else have experience with this?  I
thought about developing a bf education committee with representatives from
nursing, clerical staff, nutrition and administration.  How do you get a
staff who is already overwhelmed with responsibilities excited about bf, and
not feeling that it is just one more duty to perform?  If anyone has ideas,
please share.



























                                                                         TIA,










































                                                                          Pam
Holland, IBCLC





                                                                         (who
is feeling like the Lone Ranger)