WIC PRIMER
Prepared by: Dr. Dominic C. Sia
WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children. WIC is a special supplemental food
program that provides nutritious foods, milk, juice, formula and other items to low income
pregnant or breastfeeding women, infants and children up to age 5.
Each state has its own WIC program with its own policies
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To avail, mom must present any of the following:
Income statement stating that the mom belongs to the low income bracket
Letter stating participation in food stamps, welfare,
Eligibility limits
Pregnant mom’s are eligible the moment they become pregnant. After they give birth,
the baby is eligible for WIC until 1 year of age. After 1 year of age, the baby has to
reenroll again into the program and will be eligible until he/she is 5 (the child will need a
CBC and Lead levels as a requirement for reenrollement)
80% of referrals to WIC come from prenatal care AP (Medicaid). Majority present in their
first trimester.
WIC office is manned by dietitians, there are no nurses or doctors. But they have
anthropometric tools.
Certain brands are accepted under the WIC category and only these brands are
available for availment of the partiticipants. An example of this is in the nursery where
the babies all initially receive Similac which the hospital provides, but when the baby
gets discharged and enrolls for WIC, they can only get Enfamil which is the one WIC
accepts.
Prenatal Program
WIC also has some services for prenatal care of the mothers – they provide coupons for
the mother’s groceries.
WIC also gives breastfeeding talk/counseling as well as nutrition advise – food pyramid
for pregnant women. Smokers are referred to the smoking cessation clinic.
Mother’s must understand that WIC is only supplementary.
On the average mother’s will receive ~ $50/month or $150 worth of checks in 3 mos.
Additionally they can get $24 for fresh fruits and vegetables from the Farmer’s Market.
Once all the bloodwork is verified, mother’s can received 3 months worth of checks with
~ 5 checks / month. Do not lose checks as they are not replaceable
Newborn program
If enrolled >9 months after birth, will need bloodwork before being accepted (to check for
anemia)
At 4 mos – receive cereal
At 6 mos – receive juice (will have to dilute it as no juice for babies)
Similac – Lincoln/ WIC – Enfamil
Purely Breastfeeding package ~ 1% of cases
Does not receive checks for formula
But receives a greater amount for vegetables and food
Regular package ~ 75% of cases
Those who decide to breastfeed and bottlefeed
Obesity is becoming a problem so mom’s encouraged to get low-fat milk.
Additional Programs:
Free breastpumps
Future Programs:
Decrease amount of juice
Mom can choose soy milk
You can follow the link below to get more detailed information on the program:
http://www.nyhealth.gov/prevention/nutrition/wic/index.htm