An evaluation of the Women Infants and Children (WIC) breast pump distribution programa current assessment and future directions

Abstract

Breastfeeding an infant is one of the most important contributors to infant health. It ensures both long and short-term benefits for the infant, mother, family and society. Even though there are many benefits to breastfeeding, the current rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation are not meeting public health goals. The WIC Program in a Wisconsin county is trying to help to increase the breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates in this county with a new program called The WIC Breast Pump Distribution Program. This program allows the WIC Program to lend breast pumps to eligible WIC participants in hopes of increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration rates. The purpose of this study is to evaluate The WIC Breast Pump Distribution Program in a Wisconsin county WIC Program based on breastfeeding initiation and duration rates. The county is referred to as County A throughout the study to keep the name of the county and the WIC participants that took part in the study confidential. A summative evaluation was used to evaluate the program. This evaluation was based on the logic model. A self-reported questionnaire was developed and used to collect demographic and descriptive data from the participants. This questionnaire also contained questions about infant feeding practices and requested information about the participant’s attitudes toward breastfeeding and using a breast pump. Twenty-seven women enrolled in the WIC Program agreed to participate in the study. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to more than 35 years of age. Three of the participants breastfed infants, but did not use a breast pump. Twenty-four of the participants used a breast pump and participated in The WIC Breast Pump Distribution Program. Most of the women in this study were Caucasian and were also married. Approximately forty-one percent of the participants were unemployed. All of the participants that did not use a breast pump were unemployed while breastfeeding their infant. The majority of the participants responded positively toward breastfeeding, breast pumps, and The WIC Breast Pump Distribution Program, however, participants that used a single manual pump had a more negative attitude toward breastfeeding and The WIC Breast Pump Distribution Program than those participants that used a double electric pump. Many of the women stated that the breast pump helped them to breastfeed their infants longer than they would have been able to without the use of a breast pump. The most common reasons for requesting a pump included returning to work or school and not having enough milk to meet the infant’s needs. Overall, the results of this study indicate that The Breast Pump Distribution Program has helped to increase breastfeeding initiation rates and the duration of breastfeeding among women that participated in this program. Some recommendations for enhancing the program include an increase in the advertising of the program, encouraging all WIC participants to meet breastfeeding goals, showing all women in the program how to use the pump and clean the pump before taking it home, and referring all eligible WIC participants to Medical Assistance to receive a pump. These recommendations would help to increase the use of the program, make the program user-friendlier, and help to increase the breastfeeding initiation and duration rates of WIC Program participants.