Nutrition Support Series: What is WIC?
Getting the right foods at the beginning of your baby’s lifetime is very important since it provides nutrients that can impact their health. However, there are a lot of women, infants, and children that are at risk of a poor diet or have medical issues that impact their health and nutrition. That is where the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) comes to help!
What is WIC?
The assistance that WIC offers is very specific. WIC is a nutrition program that helps promote healthy pregnancies, improve birth outcomes, and improve the wellbeing of at-risk women, infants, and children. The program provides assistance to buy healthy foods. They provide nutrition education, access to nutritious foods, breastfeeding support, and healthcare referrals!
WIC food packages have a high diversity in what foods they cover.. Some foods that are included in their food package are:
- Tofu
- Soy based beverages
- Infant foods
- Corn or whole wheat tortillas
- Fruits and vegetables
- Milk
- Infant formula
WIC knows “it takes a village” and a lot of support is needed to raise a child. WIC works with that in mind since it can be hard to get all the support in all the areas you need when it comes to pregnancy. You may have a lot of questions as a new parent. How much should my child eat? How do I breastfeed? WIC teaches you what you can eat while pregnant to have a healthy pregnancy and what to buy for your children to make healthy meals. Breastfeeding can be tough so WIC staff offer support in the shape of:
- Peer counselors (fellow mothers who learned from WIC)
- Lactation consultants
- Mommy groups and classes
- Phone hotlines
WIC staff also help with referrals for prenatal care, pediatric care, immunizations, and dental care! They can help connect people with programs to stop smoking as well as drug and abuse counseling.
Now that you know how WIC can help you, here is some more information on whether you are eligible!
Who can get the benefits?
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Post-partum (or after childbirth) women
- Infants
- Children up to 5 years old
You must be low income and have nutritional risk, such as:
- Anemia
- Underweight/ Overweight
- Smoking
- Maternal age
- History of pregnancy complications and poor pregnancy outcomes
- Poor diet
Now that you know more about WIC, check out your local WIC program!
