What WIC offers
Florida WIC provides free healthy foods, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and referrals to health care and community services. Breastfeeding mothers can receive food benefits until the baby turns 1 (postpartum women who are not breastfeeding, for up to six months), and the baby can be enrolled too.
The state recommendation: only breast milk for the first 6 months, solid foods at about 6 months, and breastfeeding until the baby is at least 1 year old. Learning takes time; many mothers need four to six weeks to get used to it.
The Florida Department of Health also publishes a WIC breastfeeding booklet (PDF).
The first days
- Before birth, tell your doctor, midwife or labor nurse you want skin-to-skin time with your baby in the first hour or two.
- Breastfeed early. The baby's sucking reflex is strongest in the first hours, and your early milk (colostrum) is the right amount even if your breasts do not feel full.
- Room in with your baby so you notice feeding cues, and breastfeed at night to build your milk supply.
- Ask the nurses not to give bottles, pacifiers or formula unless medically necessary.
- It should not hurt once the baby is latched correctly; strong tugging is normal, persistent pain is not.
Common holds
- Cradle hold: the most common; baby's head on your forearm, body facing yours.
- Cross-cradle hold: helpful for premature babies or babies who have trouble latching.
- Clutch (football) hold: helpful after a cesarean birth or for larger breasts.
- Side-lying hold: lets you rest; also helpful after a cesarean birth.
Twins and triplets can be fully breastfed too, for example with a double clutch hold.
When to call for help
For extreme engorgement, the state calls it a breastfeeding emergency: in the hospital, ask for a full-size electric pump; at home, call your breastfeeding educator or peer counselor right away for information about a breast pump. Your county WIC office can connect you. County WIC numbers
Related: WIC during pregnancy · approved foods · how to apply