National WIC Breastfeeding Awareness Week August 2016
Aug 04, 2016
Each yeah around the World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated during the first week of August to promote breastfeeding and highlight the importance to the health of mothers and their babies. This year the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) joins the celebration as WIC promotes breastfeeding all year long as the optimal choice for moms who are medically able. Breastfeeding WIC mothers are supported through counseling and educational materials along with healthy dietary food packages and breastfeeding aids such as breast pumps.
The successful national breastfeeding promotion campaign titled, Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work, services as the foundation of WIC's breastfeeding activities. This campaign helps promote the importance of support from family and fiends, their community and from the health care system, which all play a key role in providing support for the needs of breastfeeding mothers.
To honor and recognize the dedication of state and local WIC programs that promote and support breastfeeding, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack declared August 1-7 "National WIC Breastfeeding Week." During this time, USDA will honor 83 WIC local agencies that provide exemplary breastfeeding programs and support services with a "Loving Support Award of Excellence." In addition, eight WIC state agencies will receive a "WIC Breastfeeding Performance Bonus Award" for outstanding achievement in improving breastfeeding rates among WIC participants.