The 50th Anniversary of WIC marks and Essential Step in the Evolution of our Health System

By Dennis Archambault

Arguably, there is no more important time in life to have good nutrition than during prenatal and infancy. It’s a period of rapid growth in brain and other bodily functions. Children born into poverty often may be deprived of nutrients to develop properly. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program was developed to positively address this and promote healthy development of low-income children.

Michigan was one of the first states to adopt the program, which was initially funded by Congress in 1974. WIC serves low and moderate income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. The program provides nutritious foods, nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding and chest feeding education and support, health screenings and referrals to health care providers and other community resources.

WIC has been shown to lessen the number of fetal deaths, reduce infant mortality, decrease low birth weight deliveries, lower the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia and increase immunization rates. It has also provided positive economic impacts to local communities as WIC food benefits are redeemed at local retail stores.

It’s easy to assume that WIC, like other federally funded health and human service programs, will always been available. But the evolution of the safety net has involved the hard work of advocates at each stage – and its benefits can be easily lost through the indiscriminate act of cost cutting.

Dennis Archambault is vice president of Public Affairs for Authority Health.