| |
BREASTFEEDING RATES
|
in St. Joseph County WIC Clinics
|
Data from St. Joseph
County WIC
For the past eight years, overall
breastfeeding rates have been steadily rising in the St. Joseph County WIC
population. Clearly, WIC encourages and supports breastfeeding. Some of
their strategies include:
- Employing a Certified Lactation Counselor who shares
her time between each clinic
- Conducting a monthly breastfeeding support group at each
clinic
- Holding monthly breastfeeding classes at each clinic
- Scheduling prenatal visits on days when the Lactation
Counselor is at the clinic
- Giving phone support
- Doing hospital and home visits when needed
- Providing breast pumps and SNSs (Supplemental Nursing
System) when necessary
- Regularly distributing a handout entitled "10 Good
Reasons to Breastfeed"
- Holding "classes" for children who will be
having a new breastfed sibling
- Giving out t-shirts that say "I'm fed the natural
way"
- Participating in World Breastfeeding Week
The following percentages are based on the numbers of postpartum
women enrolled in WIC who are breastfeeding either partially or fully.
Year
|
South Bend Memorial Neighborhood Health Center
|
South Bend Lincolnway West
|
Mishawaka
|
North Liberty
|
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
|
| 9/90 |
20.2% |
16.3% |
31.6% |
18.4% |
21.3% |
| 9/91 |
29.6% |
27.2% |
33.5% |
34.0% |
29.7% |
| 9/92 |
36.5% |
30.4% |
41.5% |
42.9% |
35.6% |
| 9/93 |
40.7% |
36.0% |
44.9% |
50.9% |
40.1% |
| 9/94 |
42.4% |
41.9% |
52.0% |
43.1% |
45.0% |
| 9/95 |
47.7% |
44.7% |
59.5% |
59.2% |
50.1% |
| 9/96 |
50.8% |
47.2% |
55.7% |
55.0% |
50.9% |
| 9/97 |
58.6% |
48.7% |
62.8% |
42.9% |
55.6% |
The Women, Infants and Children's Program
(WIC) is a supplemental food and nutrition program for income-eligible persons,
including those who receive Medicaid, Food Stamps and TANF. WIC provides
food vouchers, nutrition education, nutrition counseling, and referrals
to other health and social services to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers
(up to one year after delivery), postpartum nonbreastfeeding mothers (up
to six months after delivery), infants, and children under five years of
age. For more information in St. Joseph County, contact Sue Taylor, WIC
Program Manager, 219-234-4655.
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