Fresno EOC's WIC program helping first-time moms navigate breastfeeding journey

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- First-time ma Jeantte Ocampo is learning however to navigate motherhood with her two-month-old baby, Rosita.

"Patience," said Ocampo. "I'm decidedly a batch much patient. I've learned to springiness myself grace."

Every day, Jeantte learns thing new. One of the challenges for her was breastfeeding, and the symptom she felt successful the beginning.

"I honestly thought that symptom would ne'er spell away," said Ocampo. "I broke down the archetypal time coming backmost home."

That's erstwhile she came to Fresno EOC's WIC programme to look for enactment and resources, and connected with a lactation consultant.

"I attended their breastfeeding walk, and they had a batch of booths there," said Ocampo. "I spot that they genuinely attraction astir the women."

Ali Tackett, a dietician and a board-certified lactation advisor with Fresno EOC, explains that breastfeeding benefits some ma and baby.

"It helps trim the hazard of infections, arsenic good arsenic allergies," said Tackett. "For moms, it helps trim the hazard of postpartum depression, osteoporosis, arsenic good arsenic aggregate antithetic types of cancer."

This month, Fresno EOC's WIC programme earned golden successful the USDA's Breastfeeding Award of Excellence Program. It's a designation that honors agencies with beardown breastfeeding enactment and promotion.

In 2022, California saw an mean of astir 94 percent of moms initiating breastfeeding, but Fresno County fell conscionable beneath that.

"Here successful Fresno County, we're astir 86%," said Tackett. "Whether oregon not you're surviving successful a agrarian country oregon present successful the city, WIC is present to assistance enactment our ma truthful we tin assistance span that gap."

Since then, breastfeeding has gotten easier for Ocampo. She says she doesn't acquisition the symptom she felt successful the opening and has bonded adjacent much with her daughter.

"The challenges with breastfeeding decidedly brought maine person to my daughter, and realizing that I'm doing it for her," said Ocampo.

Click here to larn much astir the breastfeeding resources disposable astatine Fresno EOC.

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