Women, Infants, Children

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Women, Infants, Children

What is WIC?

If you are pregnant, recently had a baby, are breastfeeding, or have a child younger than five years of age, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) could help you. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a short-term intervention program designed to influence life time nutrition and health behavior in high-risk populations. WIC is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.

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Women, Infants, Children

What does WIC provide?

  • Nutrition education and services
  • Breastfeeding promotion and education
  • A monthly food package of nutritious foods
  • Access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric health-care services

Women, Infants, Children

WIC Saves Lives

WIC saves lives and improves the health of nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children. The results of studies conducted by FNS and other non-government entities prove that WIC is one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective nutrition intervention programs. Since its beginning in 1974, the WIC Program has earned the reputation of being one of the most successful federally-funded nutrition programs in the United States. Collective findings of studies, reviews, and reports demonstrate that the WIC Program is cost effective in protecting or improving the health/nutritional status of low-income women, infants, and children.

Improved Birth Outcomes & Health Care Costs
Research has show that the WIC Program has been playing an important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health care costs. A series of reports published by the USDA based on linked 1988 WIC and Medicaid data on over 100,000 births found that every dollar spent on prenatal WIC participation for low-income Medicaid women in five states resulted in longer pregnancies, fewer premature births, lower incidence of moderately low and very low birth weight infants, fewer infant deaths, a greater likelihood of receiving prenatal care, and savings in healthcare cost from $1.77 to $3.13 within the first 60 days after birth.

Improved Diet
Studies have found WIC to have positive effects on children's diet and diet-related outcomes such as:
- higher mean intakes of iron, vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, without an increase in food energy intake, indicating an increase in the nutrient density of the diet
- positive effects on the intake of ten nutrients without an adverse effect on fat or cholesterol
- more effective than other cash income or food stamps at improving preschoolers' intake of key nutrients
- decline in the rate of iron deficiency anemia form 7.8% in 1975 to 2.9% in 1985 which the CDC attributed to both a general improvement in iron nutrition and participation in WIC and other public nutrition programs

Infant Feeding Practices
WIC promotes breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant feeding. Studies show:
- WIC breastfeeding policy and program activities were strengthened in the early 1990's
- Between 1996 and 2001, the percentage of WIC mothers breastfeeding in the hospital increased by almost 25%, from 46.6% to 58.2%
- The percentage of WIC infants breastfeeding at six months of age increased by 61.2%, from 12.9% to 20.8%
- For those infant who are fed infant formula, 90% received iron-fortified formula, which is recommended for nearly all non-breastfed infants for the first year of life

Immunization & Medical Care
A regular schedule of immunizations is recommended for children form birth to two years of age, which coincides with the period in which many low-income children participate in WIC. Studies have found significantly improved rates of childhood immunization and of having a regular source of medical care associated with WIC participation.

Cognitive Development
Cognitive development influences school achievement and behavior. Participation in the WIC program has been shown to:
- Improve vocabulary scores for children of mothers who participated in WIC during pregnancy
- Significantly improve memory for numbers for children enrolled in WIC after the first year of life

Nutritional Status
Preconception nutritional status is an important determinant of birth outcome. A previous pregnancy can caused nutritional depletion of the postpartum woman, particularly those with high parity and short interpregnancy intervals. One study found:
- Women enrolled in WIC both during pregnancy and postpartum periods delivered infants with higher mean birth weights in a subsequent pregnancy than women who received WIC prenatally only
- The women who received postpartum benefits had higher hemoglobin levels and lower risk of maternal obesity at the onset of the subsequent pregnancy

Women, Infants, Children

Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online here, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

email:
Program.Intake@usda.gov This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

De acuerdo con la ley federal de derechos civiles y las normas y políticas de derechos civiles del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA), esta entidad está prohibida de discriminar por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo (incluyendo identidad de género y orientación sexual), discapacidad, edad, o represalia o retorsión por actividades previas de derechos civiles.La información sobre el programa puede estar disponible en otros idiomas que no sean el inglés. Las personas con discapacidades que requieren medios alternos de comunicación para obtener la información del programa (por ejemplo, Braille, letra grande, cinta de audio, lenguaje de señas americano (ASL), etc.) deben comunicarse con la agencia local o estatal responsable de administrar el programa o con el Centro TARGET del USDA al (202) 720-2600 (voz y TTY) o comuníquese con el USDA a través del Servicio Federal de Retransmisión al (800) 877-8339.Para presentar una queja por discriminación en el programa, el reclamante debe llenar un formulario AD-3027, formulario de queja por discriminación en el programa del USDA, el cual puede obtenerse en línea aquí, de cualquier oficina de USDA, llamando al (866) 632-9992, o escribiendo una carta dirigida a USDA. La carta debe contener el nombre del demandante, la dirección, el número de teléfono y una descripción escrita de la acción discriminatoria alegada con suficiente detalle para informar al Subsecretario de Derechos Civiles (ASCR) sobre la naturaleza y fecha de una presunta violación de derechos civiles. El formulario AD-3027 completado o la carta debe presentarse a USDA por:

(1) correo:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

(2) fax:
(833) 256-1665 o (202) 690-7442; o

(3) correo electrónico:
program.intake@usda.govEsta institución es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.

WIC Nutritionists

Amy Meador, RDN, LD, CLC

Amy Meador, RDN, LD, CLC

Nutrition Services Supervisor
270-237-4423 Ext. 103
Alyssa Hammonds, RDN, LD, CLC

Alyssa Hammonds, RDN, LD, CLC

MNT Nutritionist
270-237-4423 Ext. 107
April Wood, RN

April Wood, RN

Public Health Nurse
270-237-4423 Ext. 116
Cassidy Patterson

Cassidy Patterson

Nutritionist
270-237-4423 Ext. 124
Chelsea Tabor, RDN, LD, CLC, LDE

Chelsea Tabor, RDN, LD, CLC, LDE

MNT Nutritionist
270-237-4423 Ext. 108

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