Fact Sheet

Breastfeeding Peer Counselors: A Successful Program That Should be Expanded

By National WIC Association

WIC’s Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program is a cost-effective, evidence-based resource for pregnant women and new moms participating in WIC. The National WIC Association recommends increased federal support to make peer counselors available at all WIC locations, including full funding of the program at $90 million.

One of WIC’s most effective breastfeeding promotion strategies is its peer counseling program. Officially launched in 2004, the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program (BFPC) uses an evidence-based peer-to-peer model that connects pregnant and postpartum women with paraprofessional breastfeeding counselors who come from the same neighborhoods and speak the same language as WIC participants. WIC peer counselors, who are often current or former WIC participants with experience breastfeeding their own children, provide counseling services in person, in groups, over the phone, via video call, through texting or chatting, and/or during home visits.

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Date Added
March 7, 2019

Citation
National WIC Association, Breastfeeding Peer Counselors: A Successful [WIC] Program That Should be Expanded; Available online: https://media.nwica.org/2019-breastfeeding-peer-counselors.pdf