Debra,
WIC isn't the only place that women hear incorrect information. Many American
doctors in upper middle class clinics recommend early introduction of iron
rich foods and believe that toddler nursing is "highly unusual" or even
harmful. Women are often told that babies get no benefit from nursing more
than six months.  In this country, only a few of us do actually nurse beyond
a year. Sometimes it is hard to remember what the "real world" is like and it
can be frustrating when change is slow.

I trained as a peer councelor with some LLL friends in Chicago when my son
was little. Although some of the staff had grown cynical, they were trying to
do the best they could under the circumstances. It can be hard to promote
breastfeeding when it seems that no one is interested. Old habits are hard to
break and malnutrition is a real threat to some of these babies (and Moms for
that matter). The staff allowed us to help teach their breastfeeding classes
for pregnant women. The classes were required so we had a captive audience
that was somewhat resentful of having to be there in order to get benefits.
 Many of them had never seen a nursing baby. It was hard for us to seem like
threatening authority figures when we were nursing and chasing crawling
babies and toddlers. The Moms were never hostile (as we expected at first)
and always had a lot of questions. We spoke Spanish (the Bf educator did not
speak Spanish) to the Central and South American Moms. Many of them knew more
about "normal" breastfeeding than we did, but did not think anyone breastfed
here. They did not plan to breastfeed here because they didn't think it was
accepted. I hope we made a dent in that perception. My time at WIC was brief
because my son started asking to nurse in a not too discreet way and then we
moved to a different state.  I don't know how much we influenced anyone's
decision to nurse, but we did show how breastfeeding could be normal and
enjoyable.

It would be worth your time to take the Peer Counceling training. It may help
you to understand the obstacles that some of the WIC staff and their clients
face. There are no easy answers and no one is perfect. Non-judgemental help
in the form of role-modelling and dispelling myths (for staff and clients
alike) would probably be very helpful. Insisting on very high standards of
breastfeeding could result in an overall lower number of women who try. It is
too intimidating when you have only heard the myths. This is  a population
where ANY breastfeeding at all is truly a victory for Mom and baby. How many
middle class women were breastfeeding in 1955?

People who need the most support tend to get the least. Breastfeeding can be
very empowering.

Marie of WI LLLL