Send your breastfeeding photos to me at info (at) mommytoo (dot) com.
Sounding the Alarm: Saving WIC for Poor Mothers and Their Children
Monday, December 17, 2007
Poor mothers and their children are in serious danger of losing much-needed food assistance if we don't act today! Under President Bush's new budget plan, 500,000 mothers and their children will be dropped from the WIC rolls as early as February if Bush's budget passes this week.We all know WIC is one of the most effective portals through which poor mothers learn about breastfeeding and receive much-needed support. We cannot let these mothers down; we cannot let their infants down; and we cannot let their children down who desperately need nutritious foods to combat the litany of sweet treats and junk food that have become staples of the American diet. We cannot let breastfeeding mothers down.
If you want to voice your opinion and prevent 500,000 mothers from being turned away from the WIC offices, please fill out this easy form.
Labels: breastfeeding news, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 9:21 AM,
, links to this post
The International Formula Council Agenda
Friday, August 31, 2007
Usually I only post once a day and although I've already posted this morning, this story absolutely cannot wait until tomorrow!
I am so mad, I cannot even think straight.
I have been spending so much time trying to look at the history of infant feeding because I want to know -- I mean really know -- why black breastfeeding rates are so low. But the answer has been in my face all along. I just wanted proof. Here it is, as posted by the Washington Post today. It's all about politics, lobbyists and the International Formula Council (IFC).
The Washington Post has uncovered that the IFC didn't want the Health and Human Services Department to run a "risk based" breastfeeding campaign between 2003-2005 that encouraged mothers to breastfeed and instead coaxed the department into running ads that were toned down and did not elicit "mother guilt".
The formula industry's intervention -- which did not block the ads but helped change their content -- is being scrutinized by Congress in the wake of last month's testimony by former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona that the Bush administration repeatedly allowed political considerations to interfere with his efforts to promote public health.But, one of the primary reasons the IFC wanted toned down ads is because of the thousands of low-income mothers who receive infant formula through WIC. They argued these ads would be inconsistent with the message the USDA has been pushing for 30 years. In reality, however, if women on WIC decided to breastfeed en mass due to this campaign, the IFC would lose a huge portion of their market and they certainly do not want to do that.
There are so many details in this great piece of investigative reporting that you probably should just read it.
In the meantime I have to go simmer down.
Labels: black breastfeeding rates, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 10:43 AM,
, links to this post
WIC, physicians, black mothers and breastfeeding: an uncommon connection
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Many of you may recall a post I wrote in late May entitled Ties That Bind: WIC and the Big Three. One mom, Ebony, posted a comment that left me itching for an answer. The following is Ebony's experience with WIC.All I could think while reading this post and the comments was, "Wow." I have used WIC for 3 out of 5 of my pregnancies and I have never been pushed to bottle feed or breast feed. I was given information on both and told that "breast is best", but then they stepped back and let me make my own decision. The walls in the office are covered with pro-breast material, including classes, etc. Instead of formula coupons, I received coupons for milk, carrots, etc. When it proved that I could not breast feed my 3 year old, they did everything they could to help me before I stopped, got me a free breast pump, individual assistance from a nurse, everything to help me continue nursing. I'm surprised by others experiences. Am I just lucky to have a good office where I'm at, is my experience the norm or an exception?What do you think? Do you think Ebony's experience was the norm or an exception? I hoped it was the norm until I read up on infant feeding advice given by WIC counselors.
According to A Closer Look at Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding: Commentary on Breastfeeding Advice Given to African American and White Women by Physicians and WIC Counselors published in the July-August 2003 issue of Public Health Reports black women were "less likely to recall receiving breastfeeding advice from clinicians and WIC counselors than white women." In fact, black women were reported to receive more bottle feeding advice from WIC counselors. And, in another study, Woman, Physicians, and Breastfeeding Advice: A Regional Analysis, poor women were found to receive less accurate breastfeeding advice from their physicians compared to higher educated women. Furthermore, in a USDA study, only 39% of WIC mothers reported receiving breastfeeding advice from their doctors. With percentages and trends such as this I cannot help but believe they help contribute to the continued low breastfeeding numbers among black women.
When I was an expecting mother I never ran into any problems related to how I would feed my baby girls. My doctors knew from the jump that I was going to breastfeed, so there was no further discussion about the matter either time.
What infant feeding advice did you get? Whether you're white, brown, or tan, how did you come to your decision to breastfeed, or not to breastfeed? Did your doctor tell you about the full benefits of breastfeeding?
Labels: breastfeeding advice, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 3:00 PM,
, links to this post
Ties That Bind: WIC and the Big Three
Monday, May 21, 2007
Since I started this blog, I have been heavily in favor of WIC initiatives to get more poor moms breastfeeding. In fact, I've reported several instances where some of these new initiatives are actually working, and even an instance where it's working so well black children are getting rickets since breast milk contains no vitamin D. It is with the below information, however, that makes me angry at how wrong I've been all along.Chris Edwards, a CATO Institute scholar and top expert on federal and state/local tax and budget issues, blogged about a recent article in the International Journal of Breastfeeding: WIC's promotion of infant formula in the United States by University of Hawaii professor, George Kent which I also read.
Truly, I've never been one to know how WIC works and I certainly never understood the close ties between WIC and the three largest infant formula companies: Mead Johonson, Ross Laboratories, and Carnation. I've now learned that:
- In 2005, only .6% of the federal WIC budget was set aside for breastfeeding promotion at $34 million. (That sounds like a lot, but not when the total budget is 5 billion dollars.).
- In fact, the total numbers of WIC mothers who breastfeed have gone up, but so too have the numbers for non-WIC mothers.
- In 2001, WIC received 1.4 billion dollars in rebates from the infant formula companies, which allowed 2 million more recipients of WIC to be served.
- WIC supplies about half of all infant formula in the United States.
Labels: breastfeeding mamas, commentary, formula, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 5:54 AM,
, links to this post
An Increase in Rickets in African-American Children and Breastfeeding: The Correlation + Other News
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Physicians across the country are seeing a marked increase in rickets cases among African-American children these days. Many attribute this rise in cases to the lack of sun African-American babies and toddlers receive because they're indoors in daycare all day long, most days. Physicians are also citing WIC's successful breastfeeding programs for the increase in rickets cases.While formula and most foods we eat are fortified with vitamin D, breastfeeding has no vitamin D at all. This simple fact, however, should not discourage you as a mom from breastfeeding your baby. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of your child's life does not automatically equate to rickets. Be sure to talk to your doctor and have him or her recommend a quality vitamin D supplement that you can take. If you're on WIC, you can get this supplement for free in most cases. And if all else fails, be sure to spend ample time outside this spring and summer in the sunshine. Let the sun's rays bask down upon you and your little one and you'll be perfectly fine.
In Other News: Uh-Oh! A Melbourne mom was groped while breastfeeding. Moms, be sure you're careful when breastfeeding in public. I know this is an isolate
d incident, but still exercise caution. The world is simply crawling with crazies!What a sight to behold! 3608 moms breastfeeding -- at once.
Breastfeeding keeps new moms happy (my words). A new study finds breastfeeding helps curb postpartum depression.
One of the best breastfeeding positions is placing your baby on your tummy, a new British study finds. I always found this position to be annoying, but apparently it works for some.
Labels: health, rickets, vitamin D, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 6:29 PM,
, links to this post
On Which Encouraging Breastfeeding Saves Valuable Federal Funds
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
I am absolutely in love with this picture! I love seeing black moms breastfeed. It's widely considered a lost art in our national community and seeing such a stunning photograph gives me hope; hope that increasing numbers of black moms will back away from formula and re-situate their perspectives about nursing into a positive act, not a negative burden. One way that breastfeeding rates will increase among black moms is by doing just what the WIC office in Savannah, Georgia is doing -- encouraging breastfeeding and providing one-on-one support.
The Savannah WIC department figured out they can save valuable federal dollars simply by encouraging their clients to breastfeed. Nationally, $578 million dollars is spent on formula vouchers for WIC-mothers, according to the above linked article. With saving money as a powerful incentive, more WIC departments should hire qualified breastfeeding peer counselors and move their literature and stance to breastfeeding as the norm, and not simply as the exception. In doing so, everyone benefits: Black babies will be healthier, as well as their mothers. And WIC offices will have more funds to allocate to other programs.
Kudos to the Savannah, GA WIC department! Here's to hoping more departments across the country get with the program.
Photo Credit: SavannahNow.com
Labels: low-income moms, WIC
posted by Jennifer James @ 6:54 AM,
, links to this post
