Hope I am not to late to make a suggestion...It would be wonderful if he
would retain an attorney to lobby the federal government to staff every
regional WIC office with an IBCLC, for those who can not afford health
insurance (and are unlikely to seek out the services of a IBCLC), or even
lobby the major insurance companies to cover the services of an IBCLC.

In my area of rural east Texas, it is so true that a high percentage of
mothers quit breastfeeding because there is no support program in place at
the community level. And although there is a peer counselor program, it has
been my experience, (working at WIC for the last 4 1/2 years), that IF the
client is given the opportunity to see a PC, and IF the PC is knowledgeable
enough to know to refer a problem outside of her scope, there is not an
IBCLC readily available to assist the dyad in a timely matter.

The type of problems that tend to come up need to be dealt with in a more
immediate timeframe than two or three days later, (and usually require a
consult, as opposed to telephone advice). By that time, many of these moms
give up and resort to formula. Of course, the aftermath includes telling
all their acquaintances how awful their particular breastfeeding experience
was, and, unfortunately, THAT is what gets attention at the community level.

I know that the Federal government has allocated a lot of funds for
expanding the PC program, but in reality, how effective will the addition
of 5 or even 10 PCs be if there is not an IBCLC available to deal with the
inevitable train wrecks?

I realize that changing the 'system' takes time, and I applaud the efforts
of all of those that have pushed for the changes taking place in the PC
program at all WIC offices in the US, but it seems to me that we are
putting the cart before the horse. The office that I work out of has now
fully loaded its cart, but who is going to pull it? Aren't we sending the
message that if the PC can not 'fix' the problem, formula is the next
alternative?

Seems like a project for a millionaire; hope he is interested.

Niki Konchar, IBCLC, RLC

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