WIC Breastfeeding

WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors are paraprofessional women, who have successfully breastfed despite barriers and challenges, and are enthusiastic about sharing their breastfeeding experience and knowledge with women of their culture and language. Peer counselors are current or past WIC participants and work closely with WIC and healthcare providers to promote breastfeeding in their communities.

The use of breastfeeding peer counselors adds value to WIC’s efforts to help women initiate and continue breastfeeding. WIC breastfeeding peer counselors provide a valuable service to their communities, addressing the barriers to breastfeeding by offering breastfeeding education, support, and role modeling. Peer counselors are familiar with the resources available to WIC clients, are familiar with the questions a breastfeeding mother may ask and recognize when to refer mothers to other resources during critical periods when mothers may experience difficulty.

Currently, all 15 WIC agencies in Iowa offer peer counseling services, covering 99 counties across the state. There are nearly 40 trained peer counselors serving over 4,500 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers each year.

The USDA Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Award of Excellence was established to recognize local WIC agencies that have provided exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities. Recognition is given at three levels of performance: Gold Award, Premiere Award (mid-level), and Elite Award (highest level award). More information, including Iowa awardees, can be found on the USDA WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence page.