Women, Infants and Children are Public Health

Our group decided to place our “This is Public Health” sticker at a women and children’s clinic called WIC. WIC stands for women ,infants, and children. This organization is funded by the federal government and provides supplemental nutrition programs for pregnant women and their infants and children up to five years old. WIC offices are located in 2,200 locations across the U.S. and their territories. The program assists low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children. WIC serves about 45% of infants born in the US, clearly making the need for nutrition and health care a major public health issue. WIC improves the quality of life in many of the communities it is established in by improving public health for those who need it. Our group believes this is a public health issue because we believe every newborn baby has a right to good nutrition and good health.

Something great that WIC provides are vouchers for grocery stores so women can purchase the food items they need to stay healthy and provide for their babies. When comparing the national average of low income pregnant women and mothers to those who use the services provided by WIC, those who use the service have healthier diets and also healthier children. A lack of nutritions foods can impact ones immune system and can contribute to low birth weight, anemia, and diabetes. If we provide this intervention offered by WIC to help people who need it, we are making a big difference in infants and children’s health in the long run. As we learned in class,

getting the help you need right when you need it leads to less hospitalizations and treatments in the end. That explains why this issue is so important. When mothers and children are cared for in the community, public health measures are very effective.

Elizabeth, Gina, Marvin, Allie