CDPH Educates Clients, Community on Breastfeeding Benefits

Some of the health risks associated with not breastfeeding include sudden infant death syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, childhood leukemia, asthma, and juvenile diabetes. In addition, breastfeeding may help reduce our national childhood obesity rates as well as decrease non-life threatening health problems like ear infections, gastro-intestinal upset, and delaying onset of food allergies.

Many are aware that breastfeeding provides numerous benefits to both mother and child; however the decision to breastfeed can have an even greater impact. In fact, according to a report in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding could result in a savings of 13 billion dollars to our nation’s health care system if 90 percent of moms followed the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed. It would also prevent an excess of 911 deaths, nearly all of which would be infants.

The CDPH WIC program, which is federally funded by the USDA and administered through the Department of Community Health in Georgia, has implemented many programs to educate clients on this issue, and is seeing impressive results. Currently 76 percent of their WIC clients are breastfeeding at birth, which is up from 57 percent last year. In 2005, CDPH also piloted a Peer Counselor program which is made up of previous WIC moms who breastfed their infants. Currently CDPH has one of the largest peer counselor programs in the state. Staff to support breastfeeding moms includes: Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultants, Certified Lactation Counselors, Breast Feeding Peer Counselors and Registered Dietitians, as well as general Nutritionists and Nutrition Assistants.

Another key factor in success for breastfeeding mother is proper nutrition. The WIC Food Package changed nationally in October 2009 to help encourage and support efforts to breastfeed. In conjunction with the new WIC Food package, Cobb & Douglas WIC recently began a breast pump program to facilitate breastfeeding for our clients who agree to breastfeed exclusively for six months. Mothers are given a personal double electric breast pump. “Our goal is to make breastfeeding as easy and natural as it should be,” said Alvarez.”

CDPH is not alone in this venture; breastfeeding promotion efforts in the state of Georgia are strong. Currently Georgia has a law that protects breastfeeding by allowing a mother the right to “breastfeed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be”.