I have to get up on my soapbox.The WIC program is almost is over 21 years old and if I know my history bf rates in the population that WIC serves have actually increased. Yes, it is true that WIC is the largest buyer of formula in the U.S. and that is nothing to be proud of. I do believe that to credit WIC for being a major factor in the low bf rates of that population is a bit of an overstatement. I would like to see well documented nation figures that prove that accusation. I could be wrong. I invite critics of the WIC program to volunteer sometime in thier local clinic. When you deal with the daily realities it is an eye opener. When I first came to WIC to work I thought that bf promotiion would be easy. It is a struggle. Women are influnced by other factors than WIC when making the decision to use formula. The dominant culture ,the media, the medical careproviders,thier families ,mainstream attitudes about babies and children and the list goes on and on . The anti bf culture started about 100 years ago with scientific childrearing . Yes , it would save money if we stopped providing formula,but we would return to the good old days. That wouldn't be bf. It would be homemade formulas of canned milk and god knows what else. Women would not choose bf and be successful under the current mainstream culture. I shudder when I think of the horrid things babies might be feed to keep thier stomachs full. Read your history for possible examples. What would the health of an infant be if he/she were feed koolaid because it filled the stomach and that was all the family could afford. I am not advocating formula, I want people to understand that there are a lot of changes that need to happen before bf becomes a cultural norm. In the meantime lets try to work together and not create scapegoats. We need to take every opportunity to plant the seeds of change . I admire LLL because it has facilitated change through mother to mother networks and support groups and the result are impressive. In summary, I do not believe that bf numbers would have an significant increase in the population that WIC serves by no longer providing formula because the mainstream culture still supports bottlefeeding as a norm. Until there are significant cultural changes the babies would become the victims resulting in more long term health risks than are under currrent practices. If we want to save tax dollars there are plenty of other ways. I would like to propose that the first significant move is to create a national policy on the rights of children and enforce it. Well ,I guess I will step down. I work in the trenches everyday and there are no simple answers. I just needed to vent. Pat Gorrman CLE BF Educator for Marion Co. WIC Salem, Oregon [log in to unmask] If I was queen of the world every baby would be bf.