Breastfeeding promotion and support is a central tenet of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The Loving Support Peer Counseling Program is an initiative designed to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates for WIC participants, as well as to increase community support for WIC participants who breastfeed.
This study provides a comprehensive and systematic picture of the implementation of the Loving Support Peer Counseling Program. Phase I, the Implementation Study, describes the process of the Loving Support Peer Counseling Program implementation in those States that accepted breastfeeding peer counseling grants. Phase II, the Impact Study, will address the research question of what intensity of peer counseling is necessary to increase duration of breastfeeding once the program has met the standards of the FNS model.
WIC Participant and Program Characteristics summarizes the demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2008, along with information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, a national estimate of breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants, and a description of WIC members of migrant farmworker families.
This report describes Native American participation in WIC based on data collected by the biennial WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Studies in 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998. The report presents information on the geographic distribution, demographic characteristics, health status, and public health concerns of low-income Native American women, infants, and children participating in the WIC program on and off reservations; describes Native American Tribes and the role of tribal governments in administering WIC programs; compares the characteristics of Native American WIC enrollees with all WIC enrollees; and examines the health status of Native American WIC enrollees.
WIC seeks to improve fetal development and reduce the incidence of low birthweight, short gestation, and anemia through intervention during the prenatal period. This publication is the seventh report in the series of studies on WIC participants and program characteristics.
This is a report of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (Food and Nutrition Board), published here by permission. This report seeks to evaluate the use of various dietary assessment tools and to make recommendations for their use in identifying individuals who are at dietary risk.
This study was designed to describe the characteristics of adolescent women in WIC, as well as to identify their special needs, such as nutrition education, referral to other agencies, and their satisfaction with the services they received.