COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho has one of the highest percentages of breastfed babies in the nation, and it's likely that North Idaho efforts to support breastfeeding mothers have helped increase the ranks of babies latching onto their mamas.

The high number of Idaho babies being breastfed recently earned the state's federally funded Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program a $1.1 million bonus award from the United States Department of Agriculture.

"We partner with WIC. This just warms my heart to see that their rates are so high," said Eileen Bagan, a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant who heads up the lactation program at Kootenai Medical Center's birthing facility.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 Breastfeeding Report Card released in August, 84.5 percent of Idaho babies have been breastfed at some time. Utah and Idaho share the same rate, and have the sixth highest percentage of breastfed babies in the nation.

Among 6-month-old infants in Idaho, 61.2 percent are still being breastfed. Just three other states boast higher rates.

Ask KMC's Bagan why breastfeeding is important, and she points to the results of a study completed by Harvard researchers and released last year.

That report found that if more new moms in the U.S. complied with medical recommendations to breastfeed their babies, nearly 1,000 infant deaths would be prevented as would $13 billion in costs associated with those deaths and the costs to care for sick babies and children.

"Our program is very comprehensive at KMC," Bagan said.

The hospital is one of only 115 birth facilities nationwide to earn the Baby-Friendly designation, and is the only Baby-Friendly hospital in Idaho.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for lactation based on the WHO/UNICEF Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals.

Upon discharge from KMC, 88 percent of women who have given birth are exclusively breastfeeding their babies.

The WIC program, coordinated locally by Panhandle Health District, serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women; and children under the age of 5 who are nutritionally at risk. PHD serves about 400 pregnant women at any one time.

Idaho has one of the top three breastfeeding rates in the nation for WIC-enrolled infants.

After WIC-enrolled moms leave the hospital with their babies, they have access to peer counseling for breastfeeding support through the health district.

The peer counseling program began in Idaho's five northern counties in June 2010, and provides mother-to-mother telephone support for new moms experiencing breastfeeding difficulties.

Bagan said most problems for mothers who are trying to initiate breastfeeding come up because the women don't feel "comfortable and empowered and that they are going to be able to do this."

"Women stop because there is pain, which there shouldn't be, or they perceive that the baby isn't getting enough milk and they start using formula," Bagan said.

Visit www.phd1.idaho.gov for information on and eligibility requirements for WIC.