I have been reading with great interest the discussion about WIC and their
ability or lack of to support breastfeeding. I just finished reading the
post about how supporting bf (in WIC) puts a strained on an already strained
system. My project is one solution that has worked well in Tucson.  I am a
University of Arizona employee who received federal money to collaborate
with WIC. After meeting with WIC in our County they asked that we work with
them to increase bf durations.  We are now in our third yr of the project
and it has been highly successful (96% leave hosp bf and 44% are still bf 6
mos later). THe way we work is that the Univ employs two paraprofessional bf
counselors. They conduct the classes on bf at two WIC clinics in our county.
At these classes we enroll interested WIC clients in the Project. Enrolling
means getting home and hospital visits to provide support and education
during bf.  We start with prenatal home visits and continue home and phone
support until the client weans.  The WIC staff has been very supportive of
our project and work well with the bf counselors. They also have bf
counselors but are overworked, don't do hospital and home visits, and many
do not speak Spanish (A big number of WIC clients at these clinics are
Spanish speaking only)  The big catch with a project like this is that the
funding is external (not WIC money) and I am now at the end of my funding.
I'm in the process of contacting private foundations in hope of finding more
money.  So, I think partnership between universities (I am in Cooperative
Extension which has a history of partnering with other community agencies)
and WIC is one way to tackle this problem. The problem is finding the
funding. My university recently decided to fund my position as Project
Coordinator but I still must find funding for the bf counselors and
operating costs.

-Laura
Laura Aldag, M.S.,R.D.
Assistant in Extension

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed its the only thing that has"   Margaret Mead