Dear Health Care Professional: WIC Breastfeeding Toolkit Announcement

Dear Health Care Professional:

Health care professionals play an influential role in a mother's decision to breastfeed by providing support, information and encouragement to new mothers. Research shows that breastfeeding gives infants and mothers protection from may health risks that formula feeding cannot accomplish. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months and to continue to breastfeed 12 months and beyond.

The New York State (NYS) Department of Health Division of Nutrition's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) has developed a breastfeeding toolkit, Partnering with WIC for Breastfeeding Success, to assist you. This toolkit was funded by an award from the United States Department of Agriculture for achieving high breastfeeding initiation rated in the NYS WIC Program.

The toolkit contains:

  • Information on how to create a breastfeeding-friendly practice;
  • Counseling tips to encourage pregnant women to breastfeed;
  • Information that supports breastfeeding women; and
  • Helpful resources.

Supporting new mothers and their families in their decision to breastfeed will be one of the most important decisions a mother makes; the choice will last a lifetime. Thank you for partnering with New York State top support breastfeeding and helping to re-establish it as the norm in our state.

Sincerely,

Guthrie S. Birkhead, M.D., M.P.H.
Deputy Commissioner
Office of Public Health