Women, Infants, Children

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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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