"Breastfeeding isn't just a obedient nutrition practice -- it's good business for child safekeeping center and family afternoon care home providers," say Colorado Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) administrator Kathy Brunner.
"When women who are breastfeeding are deciding on infant attention to detail, they're more likely to look for centers and homes that will work next to them."
CACFP is one of several child nutrition programs administered nationally by USDA and operate by state and local agencies. The program provides USDA-donated food, financial support, and technical assistance to facilitate participating child care centers, clan day thinking homes, and after-school care programs serve wholesome meals and snacks to children.
(CACFP also provides support for meal served to impaired and elderly adults surrounded by nonresidential care centers.)
Across the country, CACFP is assuming a growth role in encouraging and supporting breastfeeding of infants care for at participating facilities. Here's a look at some interesting actions initiated by Colorado and four other states in the Food and Nutrition Service's Mountain Plains region--Missouri, Iowa, Montana, and North Dakota:
COLORADO
In Colorado, CACFP falls under the supervisory umbrella of the state's Department of Health, which also administer WIC (USDA's Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Kathy Brunner is on the Colorado Breastfeeding Task Force (see accompanying article) and is part of the group's child caution subcommittee.
The state agency is working in a variety of ways to give support to child care center staff and home protection providers learn more roughly breastfeeding and ways they can be supportive to mothers.
For example, the agency's "Bits and Bites" newsletter for centers has included articles on breastfeeding in the child fastidiousness setting and on storing and handling breastmilk.
The state also plans to train home providers and center staff through sessions incorporated into its annual workshops. One workshop in Thornton, Colorado, included a session on working with breastfeeding mothers along next to sessions on infant care and feed, and recordkeeping.
Last fall, Colorado begin working with nutrition instructors at six community colleges that serve train people to become certified child contemplation center directors.
In another effort, the state is working to build a lattice of trained people. As a first step, Karen Runner of Colorado's CACFP staff and Paula Peirce from a local system that sponsors family daytime care homes' contribution training course conducted by staff from the University of California at San Diego.
In turn, Runner and Peirce are spearheading training for sponsoring organizations' grazing land representatives and will also train center personnel. Colorado's goal is to train 5,000 kinfolk day attention to detail home providers and 300 child care center staff by September 1993 using conferences, newsletters, and handouts.
MISSOURI
In Missouri, the Department of Health have developed a series of brochures that include information on benefits of breastfeeding and how to address needs of mothers who plan to return to work. As Missouri's CACFP director Deborah Markenson explains, the three brochures are:
* "Feeding infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program," which target providers and includes a section outlining why breastmilk is the best food for infants.
* "Breastfed Infant and You," a instruction book for child care providers that covers helping breastfeeding mothers and storing and using breastmilk.
* "Breastfeeding and the Working Mom," for women planning to return to work. This includes guidance in choosing a child fastidiousness facility; tips for continuing breastfeeding afterr returning to work; and advice on expressing, handling, and storing breastmilk.
In integration, Missouri includes breastfeeding as a topic in its annual workshops for sponsors and centers. It included an article on the advantages of breastfeeding in the state's "Building Blocks" newsletter.
IOWA
In its newsletter for child care providers, Iowa have also featured information on gentle for breastfed babies in child perfectionism, helping mothers, and storing breastmilk. The state is also producing a guide for providers with superfluous information.
There are some interesting local efforts, too. For example, within Marshall County, the Marshall County Child Care Services (a private nonprofit child care company that operates three centers) promotes breastmilk as "the optimal food for babies" and encourage mothers to continue to nurse after returning to work--either in a gentle place at the center or by having their babies feed expressed breastmilk during day fastidiousness hours.
MONTANA
In Montana, CACFP and WIC-both under the Montana Department of Health--are working together in a little ways.
For example, a WIC presenter was feature at Montana's 1992 summer workshop for organizations that sponsor relations day consideration homes' participation within CACFP. In addition, CACFP have provided WIC with a register of participating centers and homes.
In some other efforts, state staff are taking a look at how sensitive centers and homes are to helping infants be breastfed. A random survey be done with the cooperation of Montana State University to estimate willingness of providers to support breastfeeding in homes and centers. When results enjoy been tally, they will be compared to a repeat survey to be done at the end of the year.
According to state CACFP supervisor Peggy Baraby, Montana WIC clinics will soon inaugurate contacting providers. "The providers will furnish referral cards to WIC clinics, which can be given to parents needing child meticulousness," she explains. WIC clinics will also answer questions on breastfeeding, regardless of whether or not the mother and infant are WIC clients.
Montana makes available different materials, including pamphlets and a poster for display within centers and homes. In addition, the state's CACFP newsletter have discussed breastfeeding support as part of infant assistance.
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota began a cooperative hard work 2 years ago by adding a WIC presenter at its May 1991 workshop contained by Bismarck for family afternoon care home sponsors.
According to Maggie Anderson, child nutrition specialist next to the Department of Public Instruction, approximately 35 to 40 representatives attended the sessions. Since sponsoring organizations don't changeover much from year to year, she says, the presentation should budge a long way within keeping providers across the state informed.
OTHER STATES JOIN IN...
By this spring, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming had also fixed the Mountain Plains breastfeeding initiative. Like their neighboring states, they have started including articles on breastfeeding in their state agency newsletters. They've also begin to invite speakers to talk going on for breastfeeding at their workshops.
Federal program managers within FNS' Mountain Plains regional office
(MPRO) are proud of what these states are doing to offer breastfeeding as an alternative for mothers who stipulation to return to work or school but would close to to continue breastfeeding their infants.
So other states can benefit from these pains, MPRO staff are sharing with other FNS regions the materials Mountain Plains states hold developed.
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