WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program Nurtures Success

The newly released Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Breastfeeding Policy Inventory (WIC BPI) II provides the first comprehensive update on WIC breastfeeding policies and practices in nearly a decade. Authors include Stacy Gleason, MPH, Polina Zvavitch, PhD, Diana Cassar-Uhl, PhD, Julia Esposito, Kathy Wroblewska, MPP, Victoria Perez-Zetune, PhD, Kiara Amaro-Rivera, PhD, of Westat.

Since the previous report, published in 2015, Westat researchers note the following:

• The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) launched a national breastfeeding campaign and training curriculum for WIC staff. All WIC state agencies and 78% of local agencies used the curriculum to provide breastfeeding training and education to staff.
• WIC state and local agencies increased their use of technology to serve WIC participants. Westat found that 83% of local agencies offered live one-on-one virtual breastfeeding counseling sessions by telephone and 32% offered counseling by video call at the time of the survey.
• More than 70% of local agencies operated a Breast Feeding Peer Counseling (BFPC) program. However, 42% of these agencies indicated they needed more peer counselors to serve all program participants, suggesting further strides can be made to increase access to peer counselors for pregnant and breastfeeding women participating in WIC.

This study is an important first step toward understanding the availability of WIC breastfeeding resources and supports, including access to a breastfeeding peer counselor and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. However, more work is needed to understand why WIC state and local agencies make the choices they do and how these policy decisions and practices impact participants’ experiences and their breastfeeding outcomes.