A Census of Breastfeeding Promotion among WIC Agencies: The WIC Breastfeeding Policy Inventory (WIC BPI)

Introduction: The WIC Breastfeeding Policy Inventory (WIC BPI), sponsored by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, documented the full range of state and local WIC agencies’ (SAs and LWAs) breastfeeding promotion policies and practices. Serving approximately 9 million women, infants, and children up to age 5 in 2013, WIC is well positioned to encourage pregnant and postpartum women to start and continue breastfeeding, yet little is known about how agencies do so.

Methods: The WIC BPI is a comprehensive, two-part web survey that was fielded to all 90 SAs and approximately 1,800 LWAs in 2013. Part 1 assessed breastfeeding policies and practices; Part 2 assessed breastfeeding measurement, data systems, and reporting. At least ninety-three percent of agencies responded to each part. Descriptive analyses provide national-level estimates of the range of policies and practices agencies use to promote breastfeeding.

Results: This presentation will be the first to highlight findings from the WIC BPI final report, which is scheduled to be released in late summer or early fall 2014. It will focus on national estimates of breastfeeding policies and practices used to promote breastfeeding in WIC, including their geographic variation.

Discussion: The WIC BPI study is the first to collect comprehensive information on all WIC agencies’ breastfeeding policies and practices as well as outcomes, including a detailed look at how agencies collect, assess, and store breastfeeding data for WIC participants. Findings may point to promising practices to encourage more women to breastfeed, particularly exclusively and for a longer duration.