WIC clinic manager Dianne C. Esplin said 50 participants composed of clinic staff, health care providers and early childhood educators from Saipan, Tinian and Rota, will gather at the Tanapag Head Start daily for the training.
“The training is for the ‘Lactation Counselor Certificate Training Program,’ ” Esplin said.
It will be conducted by the staff of the Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding from Massachusetts.
Esplin said the training will disscuss the benefits of breastfeeding and how to help mothers and babies create successful breastfeeding experiences.
“This is a timely training as the first week of August is World Breastfeeding Week,” Esplin said.
She added that the theme of the World Breastfeeding Week is “Breastfeeding as Disaster Preparedness.”
Esplin said over 60 percent of the WIC clinic’s clients or program participants are children.
Based on the statistics released by WIC for July, 2,849 or 60.21 percent of WIC’s 4,732 clients are children.
Women participants comprise 21.22 percent, with 1,004 clients for the month, while infants totaled 18.58 percent or 879 participants in July.
WIC has 5,071 certified participants from Saipan, Tinian and Rota but the statistics showed only 4,732 are active.
