New program supports breastfeeding mothers

Colfax mother Makayla Butler holds her new baby, Serenity, born March 20.

Approximately 200 mothers or soon-to-be mothers in Whitman County are now receiving ongoing breastfeeding tips through a new county program.

A $13,000 grant to the county’s Women Infants and Children program, or WIC, is paying for four peer counselors to work part-time with mothers on breastfeeding. Administered by a county nurse, Joy Grey, the program began in early March. Most WIC offices throughout the state received grant funds for the program.

Peer counselors each have a group of women with whom they work. The counselors encourage women with educational tips that help them to breastfeed longer. A study by the WIC program in 2008 showed women who have peer help and peer encouragement are more likely to breastfeed longer. Breastfeeding has been shown to have more health benefits for a baby than formula feeding.

The Gazette, Grey and peer counselor Victoria Christensen Tuesday visited the home of new mother Makayla Butler in Colfax.

Butler gave birth March 20 to a seven pound baby girl, Serenity. Together, Butler and her peer counselor have worked on proper breast-feeding techniques.

“I’ve asked her questions about her eating habits. She’s been eating a lot, every hour. Victoria said it was normal and I should just try to feed her as much as I need to,” Butler said, adding she is worn out but not as tired as she thought she would be after the first two weeks with her baby.

Christensen showed Butler three balls of consecutively bigger sizes, from a marble to a golf ball. The balls illustrate the growth of baby’s stomach as it grows from a newborn to one month old. Sometimes when a baby appears to be eating more, a mother might not know this is just a sign their stomach is growing.

“A lot of moms are concerned about the milk supply,” said Christensen, who breast fed all three of her own children.

Grey described the role of her peer counselors as being much like a cheerleader. Mothers may be more likely to take advice from an informal coach, whom they know has had their own children.

“I’m just the girlfriend next door,” Christensen said.

The grant pays the part-time salaries of the four counselors for two years. Grey hopes to continue the grant in coming years.