As a WIC nutrition counselor and Breastfeeding Coordinator who trains peer
counselor and teaches them communication skills I have to comment on the
statement that "No one likes to be told how to eat and live their
lives......WIC personnel often do not realize how they are turning people
off...."     First of all WIC is a volunarty program for nutritional
education, it's is not another food stamp program as many people,
participants and others believe.  If the counseling turns them off so much
they don't have to participate!  The purpose of giving the WIC foods is to
help the mother put the education we give her into action both by using the
foods we give her and by saving her money by not having to buy these foods to
enable her to buy other nutritious foods.  Also there are good counselors and
bad counselors.  Okay, I have heard plenty of bad counseling that I also
would be turned off by, BUT  WIC nutritional counseling should be like
breastfeeding counseling.  A good breastfeeding counselor and a good WIC
nutrition counselor will not tell the mother what she should do, but rather
teach the mother enough facts and give her enough information and suggestions
so she can make better choices about what to do and if she makes one of the
correct choices that works she feels empowered and better about herself.

Thank you Linda Smith for your comments about WIC

If my comments seem to be "after the fact"  old hat stuff it's because I'm
still so behind in reading all my lactnet digests.

Jill Meltzer, R.N.
Breastfeeding Coordinator