Hi all,

Here's what I submitted to my legislator in the U. S. House of
Representatives, to offer my particular perspective:

Dear Representative Sullivan,

I'm a mother of four and La Leche League Leader (volunteer breastfeeding
counselor) in Tulsa.  WIC was there for my family when my husband and I had
our first son while still students, and lent me a breastpump so I could
make sure our son had my milk when I was in class.  It was there for my
family when both my husband and I were laid off when our second son was an
infant.  It was there for my family when my husband died suddenly when I
was pregnant with our third son.  After remarrying and having a little
girl, I became a La Leche League Leader.  When I moved to Tulsa and learned
that the health department's WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program was
expanding, I joined it to help moms like I had been helped.

I worked for over a year with clients who struggle to nurture their
children through more difficult obstacles even than I endured as a young
mom.  It was gratifying to make a difference in how many moms breastfed
after they learned more from me and my colleagues about how important it
is.  I was so glad to reduce or eliminate mothers' dependence on WIC
formula by helping them get baby to latch more comfortably and effectively,
and by helping them understand how to maintain their supply.  It was
exciting to help make sure mothers' milk was there to support the immune
systems of older babies who put everything in their mouths -- whether the
mom was challenged by baby's distractibility or biting, or by having to
return to work.

I urge you to vote to include $60 million in breastfeeding peer counselor
funding for WIC in FY 2013 that is not restricted by caseload needs.  The
elimination of WIC breastfeeding peer counselor funding would mean my
former colleagues lose jobs that are helping them raise their families. It
would mean more health care dollars are wasted both short and long-term on
all the diseases that are more common in people who have not been breastfed
or have been weaned too early.  It would mean more women in Oklahoma have
a higher risk of too-close child spacing, cancers, and osteoporosis.  It
would mean my former clients don't get the support they need to offer
their babies their fresh, locally produced milk!

There were no peer counselors available where I lived when I was a
struggling young mother.  I was very lucky to get connected with La Leche
League during my first pregnancy -- only because a friend of a friend was a
La Leche League Leader.  I was only able to afford the time and effort to
become a La Leche League volunteer myself after I remarried to a husband
with more resources.  Lactation hormones fill a woman with an attitude of
gratitude and an urge to evangelize about breastfeeding, but a mom can't
volunteer very much time if her family's resources are limited.  Peer
counseling empowers women in a community to help each other employ the
natural resource of their milk to strengthen the future.  The legacy of
breastfeeding got interrupted in the 20th century by misunderstanding about
how we need the milk of our own species to thrive.  Now that we know how
important it is, please spend the pennies to save dollars in the future by
the restoration of this legacy.

Earnestly,
Ruth Piatak, BA, MS, La Leche League Leader, IBCLC
Tulsa

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome