UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) —One of the most important
things a new mother can do for her
baby is breast-feed. Yet statistics
from the 1993 Healthy People
2000 Review show that only S 4
percent of women in the United
States breast-fed shortly after their
babies were bom. Five to six
months after giving birth, only 19
percent were breast-feeding.
An even smaller percentage of
low-income mothers breast-feed
their babies. In 1992, the number
of breast-feeding women enrolled
statewide in WIC, the federally
funded supplemental feeding pro
gram, was about 25 percent The
average length of time these wom
en breast-fed was less than seven
weeks.
A new Penn State program may
help to change this. “The key is to
educate women and provide en
couragement,” says Judith Heald,
registered dietitian and manager
of the federally funded Expanded
Food and Nutrition Education
Program (EFNEP) at Penn State.
Heald helped develop the Breast-
Feeding Peer Counselor Program,
administered in Penn State's Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences.
“Many women are convinced
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MARCH 18, 1995
A SPECIAL SECTION
IN LANCASTER FARMING
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ADVERTISERS PLAN NOW
TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE
PHONE 717-394-3047 or
626-1164
Deadline Friday, March 10
GROWERS
INFORMATION
FEATURE INTERVIEWS
STATE & NATIONAL
ASSOCIATES NEWS
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PRESIDENT’S NEWSLETTER
Penn State Program Promotes Breast Feeding
that breast-feeding is difficult and
inconvenient,” Heald says.
“Others don't even consider
breast-feeding because they know
so little about it When the women
around them aren’t breast-feeding
and aren’t encouraging them to do
it, it’s unlikely they’ll even try."
Heald developed Penn State’s
Breast-Feeding Peer Counselor
Program with Dr. Madeleine Sig
man-Grant, assistant professor of
food science and registered dieti
tian, and graduate student Meg
Schmidt. Begun last year, the pro
gram provides information and
support for women in the state
who want to leant to breast-feed.
“The U.S. Public Health Ser
vice wants to increase the number
of new breast-feeding mothers to
at least 75 percent, and the number
of mothers breast-feeding until
their babies are five to sue months
old to at least SO percent,” says
Sigman-Grant. “The Peer Coun
selor Program is an important part
of that effort in Pennsylvania.”
Participants in the Breast-Feed
ing Peer Counselor Program are
recruited from pregnancy classes
and hospitals. EFNEP nutrition
education advisers, who’ have,
been trained as breast-feeding
The Official Publication For The
PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN
GROWERS ASSOC.
educators, visit these women in
their homes both before and after
their babies are bom.
‘These are- crucial times for
new mothers,” says Judith Wahl,
breast-feeding educator in Blair
County. “Their bodies are going
through dramatic changes, and
without advice and encourage
ment, they may think there is
something wrong with them and
decide they can’t breast-feed.
“If we can help women at thgse
early stages, many of them should
have litUe trouble,” Wahl says.
‘The women are very excited
when they hear that I’ll come and
speak with them in their homes.
It’s important for them to have
someone they can talk with face
to-face. Bottle-feeding has been
considered the best choice for so
long that breast-feeding is a mys
tery to a lot of women. We want it
to make a comeback.”
Participants who successfully
breast-feed can receive training to
become peer counselors. “When
enough mothers take part in the
program, there will be a tremend
ous amount of community sup
port,” says Heald.
The program also educates
women about the many benefits of
CAROLYN NMO< ER ground and along (he river Ii i
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that allow Ed Snook to take locations and we ve won
home the first place ribtoni in smarts on all of them he stud
die Pennsylvania Com Club s In dlls year s contest Snook
annual production contest But plßbed first in the three year
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to bumper com crops . per acre In 1993 he produced
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eveiy yea. Ive had them in the buahels per acre for an average
Nippeivw Valley on llmelona non, . nc li
breast-feeding. “Breast milk con
tains important proteins, minerals
and vitamins,” says Sigman-
Grant “It has antibodies to help
newborns fend off infections and
nutrients for tissue development
and growth.”
Breast-feeding also is more
economical than feeding infant
formula and may help women re
turn to their pre-pregnancy
weights more quickly. “ At the
same time, it strengthens the bond
Retirement Planning
RUTGERS, N.J. Everyone
who faces retirement, voluntarily
or otherwise holds the hope that the
retirement years will be “the gold
en years” they’re supposed to be.
Whether retirement is the best time
of one’s life or the worst depends
upon the amount of planning and
effort invested in preparation for it.
To have a successful retirement
means doing the things we’d like to
do, going where we’d like to go,
and being free to make choices. All
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PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORNGROWERS ASSOCJNC.
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Know Farm’s‘ Microenvironment,
C/ivc Corn Grower President
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For Snook, Standability’j
Most Important Factor
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 4. 1
between mother and baby, which
is important for the child’s emo
tional development,” says Grant.
The Breast-Feeding Peer Coun
selor Program currently is avail
able in Blair, Bradford, Carbon,
Columbia. Huntingdon, Lacka
wanna, Northampton, North
umberland, Pike, Snyder, Tioga
and Union counties. For more in
formation about the program, con
tact Judith Heald at (814)
863-3447.
of these require that we attain at
least a reasonable level of financial
independence.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
is offering a retirement series titled
“Retirement Planning: Get An
Early Start." This five week series
will begin on Monday, March 20
and run through April 17, 6:30 -
8:30 p.m. at the Extension Center
on Route 31, in Flemington, NJ. To
register or receive more informa
tion, call Rutgers Cooperative
Extension at (908) 788-1342.
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