Release No. 0263.97

                                      Johna Pierce (202) 720-4623
                                            johna.pierce@usda.gov
                                  Phil Shanholtzer (703) 305-2286
                                    phil_shanholtzer@fcs.usda.gov

GLICKMAN KICKS OFF USDA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE BREASTFEEDING

     WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
launched a year-long campaign promoting breastfeeding and supporting
breastfeeding mothers.

     "Breastfeeding is the right way to begin a new life -- for moms and
their babies," Glickman said.  "Breastfed newborns get all the nutrients
they need for the first 4 to 6 months and gain a stronger immune system and
added protection from disease.  New research -- presented at the White House
Conference on Early Childhood Development -- now indicates that breastmilk
may improve cognitive development as well."
     
     Joined by WIC mothers and doctors at Children's Hospital in
Washington, D.C., Glickman announced the beginning of a year-long promotion
project by federal and state WIC programs to promote breastfeeding by WIC
mothers and to support all women who choose to breastfeed.

     "The theme of our campaign is Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding
Work," said Glickman.  "That support has to come from doctors, families, and
the general public.  We all need to support a mom's effort to give her child
the healthiest possible start in life."

     Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Shirley
Watkins outlined the goals of the project: to encourage WIC participants to
begin and to continue breastfeeding; to increase referrals to WIC clinics
for breastfeeding support; to increase general public acceptance and support
of breastfeeding; and to provide support and technical assistance to WIC
professionals in promoting breastfeeding.

     "We want to encourage all mothers to breastfeed, and one way we can do
that is to change the attitudes of the public toward breastfeeding," Watkins
said.  "Research has shown that while people are aware of the overwhelming
benefits of breastfeeding -- including increased immunization passed from
the mother to the baby -- there are still barriers that prevent many women
from breastfeeding."

     Women who participated in USDA focus group research cited
embarrassment and lack of support from family and friends as some of the
reasons they did not breastfeed their children.  The focus groups were
designed to help determine what barriers there are to breastfeeding and to
design and target campaign materials to address women's concerns.

     States participating in the WIC National Breastfeeding Promotion
Project will receive support in the form of social marketing research, a
media campaign, a staff support kit, a breastfeeding resource guide, a
training conference, and continuing education and technical assistance.

     USDA's Food and Consumer Service coordinated the development of these
tools.  State WIC agencies will fund the breastfeeding promotion project
locally.  Ten participating pilot WIC state agencies -- Iowa, Arkansas,
Nevada, California, New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Mississippi,
and the Chickasaw Indian Tribal Organization -- will implement the project
initially.

     The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children -- WIC -- provides supplemental food, nutrition counseling and
education, and access to health services.  Studies have shown that each WIC
dollar spent on prenatal care can save up to three dollars in Medicaid costs
for mothers and infants in the first 60 days after birth.  By improving
participants' prenatal care, WIC also reduces the number of premature births
and decreases infant death rates.

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