I am quite fascinated by this discussion about WIC and whether breastfeeding rates would improve if they stopped giving out formula, etc. Unfortunately I don't think the whole situation is quite this simple! The whole mainstream cultural thinking about how babies are fed, and even nurtured in general, would have to change as well. This is where BFHI is a start towards this. I am curious about the system in the US - eg what proportion of the population qualify for WIC assistance? I get the impression that it must be quite high as there are many references to well-educated Lactnetters having qualified. I'm just trying to figure out how our Australian population compares. I guess we may have a higher general initiation rate of breastfeeding, although amongst the lowest socioeconomic groups, I think it is quite low. Also, there may be a more cultural acceptance of breastfeeding and it is certainly encouraged and *expected* in the hospitals (even if they still put up the classic 'barriers' in most). And we don't have the marketing by formula companies in hospitals that you are all fighting against. These poorest people are likely to be on welfare (ie money hand-outs, rather than food, etc) and I think it is left up to them what they spend their money on. I suspect there are also some who do as Wendey in Canada mentions, that of switching babies to regular milk quite early (although not the Karo syrup - it's too expensive in Australia!). However, I think this would be quite a small proportion of the population. Most parents would probably earn enough to get by including purchasing formula along with their cigarettes, food, clothing, etc. Perhaps I'm a bit naive here. What do other Aussies think about this? Would we be better or worse off in Australia with a system like WIC? ****************************************************************** Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor Perth, Western Australia. mailto:[log in to unmask] ****************************************************************** *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html