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• In 2002, President George W. Bush
acclaimed the WIC Program as “one of the
nation’s most successful and cost effective
early intervention programs.”
• The 1967 National Nutrition Survey
showed inadequate growth and anemia among low-income
families. Poor nutrition compromises brain size,
cognitive ability and a school success.
• In 1972, Senators Hubert Humphrey,
George McGovern, and Robert Dole authored a
bill to introduce the WIC Program as a two-year
pilot project.
• In 1974, the first WIC clinic opened
in Pineville, Kentucky.
• Pregnant women who receive WIC seek
prenatal care earlier in pregnancy, and consume
more of such key nutrients as iron, protein,
calcium and Vitamin C.
• Pregnant women who have participated
in WIC have longer pregnancies leading to fewer
premature births.
• Pregnant WIC participants have fewer
low and very low birth-weight babies, and experience
fewer fetal and infant deaths.
• Approximately 37% of all pregnant women
in the United States are enrolled in WIC.
• Children are better immunized and more
likely to have a regular source of medical care.
• Every dollar spent on pregnant women
in WIC produces $1.92 to $4.21 in medical savings
for newborns and their mothers.
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Studies show that four and five year olds, whose
mothers participate in WIC during pregnancy,
have better vocabulary test scores than children
whose mothers do not receive WIC benefits.
• It costs approximately $14,000 per
pound to raise a low birth-weight baby to a
normal birth-weight baby, whereas, it costs
$70 per pound to provide WIC prenatal care benefits.
• The average annual income of WIC participants
is $14,550 for a family of four.
• One-third of WIC participants do not
participate in any other federal assistance
programs.
PHFE WIC Program
(888) 942-2229
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