DENVER – New moms in Colorado can now get breastfeeding advice and tips through a new mom-to-mom text message service from the state’s Women, Infants and Children program.
The Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program allows women to call, text or visit a WIC clinic to ask questions and get advice and referrals from moms who are experienced at breastfeeding.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of an infant’s life and then combining breastfeeding with other foods until at least 1 year of age.
When Colorado WIC first launched its Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program, women had to call or visit their local WIC clinic to talk to other moms. But organizers soon realized that there were some limitations to the program – not only were some moms having trouble making it to the closest clinic, but many clinics couldn’t even afford to hire the counselors.
As a result, WIC launched the mom-to-mom text messaging service at 15 clinics and found that most of the women who participated liked the program and would recommend it to others.
The Breastfeeding Peer Counselor texting program is now available at 30 agencies around Colorado and reaches more than 500 women a month, according to WIC. In addition to texting, women can still get help in person or over the phone.
The program is run out of WIC’s Pueblo office.
