Summary of the Women, Infant and Children Program
The WIC program presents federal grants to states in improving the nutritional levels of these groups as well as healthcare referrals and nutritional educations. The WIC program is an initial intervention helping more than nine million recipients annually, with the majority being pregnant women. In 2016, approximately 39.6% of women who delivered in the United States received prenatal benefits from WIC (Kreider et al., 2018). The provision of these measures to these vulnerable population controls malnutrition among children while also increasing fetal development and manage the incidence of low birth weight and reduced gestation period.
The program was initially developed to help control the impact of poverty on a prenatal, infant, and early childhood through the provision of a wide array of services such as healthcare referral, nutritional education, and providing supplemental foods. Although different states have different approaches to identify the needy population, the eligibility of these methods is mainly defined by the federal guidelines (Colman et al., 2012).
The impact of the WIC program
The implementation of the WIC program within the state has not been effectively embraced despite significant influence on improved nutritional status among children, infants, and pregnant women.
Birth outcomes
The programs mainly focus on expectant women who are highly vulnerable in low-income setting societies. The program has ensured that individuals receive improved care based on their needs. WIC recipients are less likely to have low birth weight among neonates as well as malnutrition among children who are highly targeted by this program (Foster et al., 2010).
Healthcare Costs
The WIC program offers healthcare cost reprieve to individuals who are enrolled. The program, in conjunction with healthcare organizations, provides recipients with affordable healthcare based on ther ability to afford care. The program has also ensured that there are healthcare grants targeting lower class families who are unable to provide essential needs.
Infant feeding practices
The program has also emphasized on controlling malnutrition among children in low-class settings, and their parents are unable to afford food. The program has also engaged in providing food to families that are in need. Malnutrition has been a primary cause of immunodeficiency globally. Malnutrition is one of the five major infectious diseases that contribute to approximately half of all deaths in children (Chaparro et al., 2020). Malnutrition deficiencies have also been associated with adverse outcomes, including poor growth, high susceptibility to infection, as well as impaired intelligence.
Healthy infants and highly nutritious diets, as well as better healthcare, have been associated with higher cognitive development among children. The provision of funding to the program should be in accordance with the demand of the program benefits across different states. The eligibility criteria should be assessed in helping maintain a broader commitment to improved healthcare among vulnerable groups.
Immunization rates
The WIC program together with public health workers, has focused on ensuring that children receive the required level of immunization to protect them from diseases. The susceptibility of pregnant mothers, infants, and children means that there is a need to employ closer systems that can help in maintaining a more substantial system that helps improve their needs while also improving the quality of public health (Phelan et al., 2017).
Assessment of the program
- Developing a more strategic structure in identifying families in need of the WIC benefits outline better processes that help improve the efficiency of the program.
- Child malnutrition is associated with different physical and cognitive factors including delayed physical growth, lower intellectual level, deficient social skills as well as vulnerability in disease development.
- Malnutrition has also been linked to increased risk of chronic illness among children. The development of the WIC program has been well outlined, although different states have different approaches that they use to identify beneficiaries of the project (Colman et al., 2012).
- The program was initially developed to help control the impact of poverty on a prenatal, infant, and early childhood through the provision of a wide array of services such as healthcare referral, nutritional education, and providing supplemental foods. Although different states have different approaches to identify the needy population, the eligibility of these methods is mainly defined by the federal guidelines.
References
Chaparro, M. P., Anderson, C. E., Crespi, C. M., Wang, M. C., & Whaley, S. E. (2020). The new child food package is associated with reduced obesity risk among formula fed infants participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Los Angeles County, California, 2003–2016. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17(1), 18.
Colman, S., Nichols-Barrer, I. P., Redline, J. E., Devaney, B. L., Ansell, S. V., & Joyce, T. (2012). Effects of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): A Review of Recent Research (Summary) (No. 968b31ffad2c4a088c18c21b6954060a). Mathematica Policy Research.
Foster, E. M., Jiang, M., & Gibson‐Davis, C. M. (2010). The effect of the WIC program on the health of newborns. Health services research, 45(4), 1083-1104.
Kreider, B., Pepper, J. V., & Roy, M. (2018). Does the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) Improve Infant Health Outcomes?.
Phelan, S., Hagobian, T., Brannen, A., Hatley, K. E., Schaffner, A., Muñoz-Christian, K., & Tate, D. F. (2017). Effect of an internet-based program on weight loss for low-income postpartum women: a randomized clinical trial. Jama, 317(23), 2381-2391.