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May 16,
2008
Little Rock --The Arkansas Department of Health’s WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) program is recognizing and celebrating Arkansas’s breastfeeding moms for their important contributions to health during the month of May.
A poster in support of Arkansas’s breastfeeding families was presented to Governor Mike Beebe at the State Capitol by the Department’s Center for Health Advancement Director, Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, WIC Director, Marcell Jones, and WIC State Breastfeeding Coordinator, Sandra Jones. Partners and legislative members attended the event in support of breastfeeding.
In addition to its economic benefits, breastfeeding has many important long-term health benefits, such as decreased risk of infection to the baby and decreased risk of obesity to both the mother and the baby. The Healthy People 2010 goals for breastfeeding include increasing the number of women who initiate breastfeeding to 75%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2004 Immunization Survey, the national breastfeeding rate was 73.8% and the Arkansas breastfeeding rate was 59.2%.
Lack of awareness and support from family, friends, and the community for breastfeeding can serve as barriers to successful breastfeeding. Arkansas WIC is working to address those barriers by promoting breastfeeding as the preferred way to feed a baby and providing mothers with the coaching and assistance they need to be successful.
“Because of the wonderful benefits breastfeeding brings to families, increasing breastfeeding is an important goal for the Arkansas WIC program. We are pleased to see an increase in the breastfeeding rates among WIC moms,” said Jennifer Dillaha, MD. “We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our many partners around the State to make breastfeeding easier for all Arkansas mothers.” Among women in the Arkansas WIC program, the breastfeeding rate increased to 45.2% in 2006 from 43.2% in 2003, according the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System.
For more information, call the Arkansas Department of Health Breastfeeding Help-line at 1-800-445-6175. For general information about breastfeeding, visit the WIC breastfeeding website at www.healthyarkansas.com/breastfeeding. The WIC Program is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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