WIC promotes normalization of breastfeeding

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Imagine being ostracized from eating in public because of the way you must consume your food or nourish your child. This is what babies around the United States, as well as breastfeeding mothers, deal with on a daily basis according to Jordan Pitchford, breastfeeding peer counselor for Weston County Women, Infants and Children Program, and Connie James, a registered nurse
and clinical supervisor for Weston County WIC. 
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for WIC is a “program providing federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk,” according to the organization’s website. 
Breastfeeding is not only an avenue that can save parents money on formula but it also provides several health benefits for newborns and growing babies because it contains antibodies that protect infants from viruses and bacteria.
“Breastfed children have fewer infections including ear, respiratory and urinary tract,” James said. “They also have diarrhea less often; and have fewer health care visits, prescriptions and hospitalizations.” 
To help normalize breastfeeding throughout the Weston County community, and hopefully statewide, Pitchford and James have launched the program “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.” 
“As mammals, we create the perfect food that our babies need. We don’t think twice about a cow or calf feeding their young, but as humans we have moved away from that being normal and natural,” James said. 
She said that people are always quick to say they support breastfeeding but that being comfortable with it in public is a whole different story. 
In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-7, James and Pitchford are visiting local businesses to talk about their support for breastfeeding in the community. 
“We have decided one week is not enough, and this year we are focusing a month on empowering and enabling breastfeeding in our community,” James said. 
According to Pitchford, the push is about getting the conversation started in Newcastle and Weston County, about making comfortable environments for breastfeeding mothers.
“It is about making sure breastfeeding mothers can feed their child when they are hungry and need to be fed, and making sure that they don’t have to go to the bathroom to do so,” Pitchford said. 
The duo has experienced mixed reactions from local businesses. 
“We have had a couple of businesses that were interested, and some businesses we didn’t get the best response,” Pichford said. “It is just how it goes.” 
James said that no business has said no to making their customers aware that they are willing to support breastfeeding. But some businesses have stated that they would have trouble “finding how it fits into their business,” she said. 
Pitchford made it very clear that the project was not about women forcing their breastfeeding onto others in the community but was about making sure that mothers have a safe space to breastfeed while doing business in town. 
“If the business had a poster or something letting mothers know that if they are comfortable with breastfeeding in public that they will not be shamed for doing so in that establishment,” Pitchford said. “It is letting those mothers know that their cart can be held or whatever else a business can do to make it easier.”
Along with the support for breastfeeding publicly, James and Pitchford hope to provide businesses with the tools to address complaints by other customers in negative situations. 
“It is important to validate their concerns, as well as educate,” James said. “By letting the upset customer known you understand they are concerned and will gladly do what you can for them to be comfortable (like moving to another seat or area) can de-escalate the situation.” 
Then, the concerned customer can be informed about state laws protecting the mother’s right to feed her child in public. According to James, Wyoming has made leaps and bounds toward supporting mothers in these situations. 
Legislators passed legislation supporting breastfeeding mothers in 2003 with Joint Resolution 5, encouraging breastfeeding and recognizing the importance of breastfeeding to maternal and child health. They acted again in 2007, passing a statute that provides exemption from public indecency laws to breastfeeding mothers and gives breastfeeding women the right to nurse any place that they otherwise have the right to be.  
According to James, there are nationwide laws protecting breastfeeding mothers by providing support for women in the workforce, but that there is no real protection for mothers in other public situations. 
“If a business is a certain size, they are required to provide private space that is not a bathroom so that mothers can continue to do the healthiest thing for their baby and still work productively,” James said. “We need to learn to support each other through our motherhood journeys. It comes down to not mom- shaming others and encouraging them down whatever path they choose.” 
Pitchford and James hope to continue their outreach to the community. 
“Newcastle is a community that pushes to support everyone, and this campaign can lift the weight of off some mothers’ shoulders by saying this is not what we are going to do, that we will help you be comfortable,” Pitchford said.