The WIC Program Summary

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Services is a federal program that provides health care and proper nutrition to low income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women during a crucial time for both mothers and babies. The mission of WIC is to “safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.” (Food and Nutrition Service, 2010).

WIC assists recipients to helps sustain healthy growth and development by meeting nutritional needs as well as by providing recipients with education on the benefits of nutritious food habits so that these habits can continue long after eligibility for WIC benefits ends. WIC is funded annually through the appropriations committee process by grants to each state. The program is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Service

Since the beginning of time, the birth of a baby was a sign of a new life, and within today’s society, many of those lives start within a hospital with the assistance of different medical staff. Now, every family and parent is different in regards to the upbringing of their future child well before their birth, and in order to protect and support this idea; different programs were established within Canada. The Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program which was established in 1995 can be considered one, as they work to provide support to the health and wellbeing of pregnant women within different communities. Within their program some prominent goals mentioned are: to improve maternal-infant health, increase birth weight rate, and promote breastfeeding

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) serves low-income pregnant, expecting and post-partum women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk. The criteria for receiving services are as follows:

Her OB/GYN referred Jane to a nutrition counselor because of her lab result came back resulting her as a severely anemic. Anemic is a deficiency in red blood cells, if she was to get a small cut, she can bleed out quickly. Since she is qualified for WIC program sue to her last pregnancy and her child is still on bottled formula, her nutrition need is going to change because of her health. In order for her to stay healthy and provide blood supply to the fetus while pregnant her calorie intake is going to be higher than normal. The meals are going to be descent not huge meals and just small snacks in between just in case that she is not going to be nauseous or getting sick. She will need a workout plan as well to her meal

The health nurse can be a great advocate in identifying both the current and future needs of the parent and baby. Many community services are available to assist with nutritional needs, prenatal care services, and future childcare needs (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2014). I myself was once a young pregnant mother who required assistance. Working a part-time minimum wage job while pregnant with my first child and attending nursing school full-time, I struggled financially. Before the time of healthcare reform, first-time pregnant mothers did not receive governmental assistance for health insurance or prenatal care. The community service that aided me during that time was the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program. Without the assistance of those wonderful nurses and program, I would have suffered from times of inability to buy food for myself while pregnant and would have also struggled to buy formula for my newborn. Not only was the food assistance godsend, the practical and applicable knowledge I gained from the nurse educators was

There are programs such as W.I.C. which stands for Woman, Infants, and Children. This group is where mothers that are under the poverty line can get help with the children’s nutrition information. They are also provided with tickets to get nutritious groceries at the store that they and their children may not get otherwise. They also talk about how children learn through play and how keeping your child active is heart healthy and helps prevent childhood

It should be noted that these services vary according to population needs, with some studies even indicating that services vary based on the racial background of the participants (Evans, Labbok, & Abrahams 2011). This should be a cause for concern, and discrepancies in services provided must be avoided to limit further disparities. Data from the Centers for Disease Control (2016) found that in 2010, the rates for breastfeeding initiation was 74% for Native American women, which was lower than other groups. In order to better combat breastfeeding disparities, the WIC program continues to tailor their breastfeeding support services to achieve the Healthy People 2020 goals by increasing the number of trained staff, holding community involvement sessions, and constructing additional educational components.

47. The WIC program is a nutritional education component that takes care of people who can’t take care of themselves.

also known as WIC supplies almost fifty percent of the infant formula used in the US at no

I feel there are many strengths to this Supplemental Nutrition Program. For instance, studies show that WIC plays an important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health-care costs. WIC has a positive impact on children’s diets and also provides nutrition and education counseling. WIC also improves infant-feeding practices by actively promoting breastfeeding as the best method of feeding infants. These are just a few of the strengths this program has to offer.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) policy of 1975 establishes various programs to address the issue of malnutrition in Women, Infants, and Children (Khanani, Elam, Hearn, Camille, and Noble, 2010). In an attempt to tackle the problem, the bill established a program to supply foodstuffs to breastfeeding mothers, children under the age of five and food formulae for infants that for medical reasons may not be breastfed (Davis et al., 2014). The program also provides breast pumps and ensures prolonged eligibility for families living below the US poverty line families enjoying other benefits devised for the financially challenged. Two social welfare policies evident in this program include redistribution and social control since the

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was passed in order to reauthorize child nutrition programs. It provides funding and sets policy for nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Each local agency that participates in the National School Lunch Program or other federal child nutrition program is required by law to establish a local school wellness policy for all schools under its jurisdiction.

The registered dietician at the WICC department provided lots of education for the clients that I observed. She provided proper nutrition education for their age recommendation based on the MyPlate and food pyramid. She spoke at length with each client about meeting requirements and ways to include certain foods in their diets. She educated the parents on proper weight/height guideline. She provided each parents or client with educational material regarding nutrition guidelines based on age. The pamphlets were based on age starting at 1 year and went through 5 years of age. She also educated the parents of infants on proper nutrition regarding bottle, sippy cup and pacifier use. The appointments were used to give vouchers for purchase

An increase in poverty contributes to the lack of nutritional care within low birth weight children.