GOLD FOR NM
Federal award given to breast-feeding peer counseling program
Federal award given to state for a peer counseling program that encourages mothers to breast-feed their babies.
Most New Mexico mothers breast-feed their babies, but low-income women often face barriers that make them somewhat less likely to nurse.
To help even the odds, the state’s Women, Infants and Children program created a peer counseling program in 2004 to encourage women to breast-feed.
The program earned the New Mexico Department of Health a “gold-premier” designation Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that was awarded to only eight U.S. agencies this year.
WIC has 65 peer councilors statewide who visit women in their homes to offer advice and guidance on breast-feeding, said Sharon Giles-Pullen, who manages the agency’s breast-feeding program.
“Many of our moms give birth and have to be back at work two weeks later,” GilesPullen said. Working women often lack resources that allow them to conveniently use breast pumps at work, she said.
Statewide, about 85 percent of New Mexico mothers breast-feed their infants, she said. Among WIC clients, that share is about 82 percent.
Breast-feeding has been shown to provide infants with better nutrition than baby formula and can provide babies with lifelong immunity from infectious illnesses, Department of Health officials said.
WIC provides services for pregnant and postpartum women and their children up to age 5.
In New Mexico, WIC serves 51,000 clients a month, including half of the state’s infants. The state program has a $60 million annual budget funded largely by the federal government.
WIC provides women with nutritious foods to supplement their diets, and provides education services about nutrition, breast-feeding and other topics vital to young mothers.