St. Charles County to continue WIC services

The St. Charles County Division of Public Health has announced that it has renewed its contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to continue operating the popular Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) in 2013.  WIC provides specific nutritious supplemental foods and nutrition education at no cost to pregnant or breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5.

The primary WIC services are health screening, risk assessment, nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding promotion and referrals to additional health care.

Studies confirm that women who participate in this program have fewer low birth-weight babies, experience fewer infant deaths, see the doctor earlier in pregnancy and eat healthier.

By participating, eligible families will receive a “food prescription” with nutritious food items.  To optimize the health of all WIC children, the Division of Public Health maintains a clinic environment that supports and encourages women to initiate and continue breastfeeding — which has been shown to be the perfect food source for babies, providing all the essential nutrients and sufficient calories to meet an infant’s needs.

Participants in WIC must meet income guidelines, a residency requirement and be individually determined to be at “nutritional risk” by a health professional. The income guideline schedule is available online at http://health.mo.gov/living/families/wic/eligibility_income.php.  For these guidelines, pregnant women are counted as two family members when eligibility is determined.

St. Charles County’s WIC is based at the Division of Public Health office at 1650 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles.  WIC services are provided, by scheduled appointment, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays — with expanded hours on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Those interested in applying for WIC or in need of more information should call 949-7402 during business hours or visit www.scchealth.org.