March 8, 2024

Important Spirit Notices

In preparation for SWEB:

• Do NOT put periods in the comment section of scanned documents
• Do NOT assign eWIC cards to a WIC ID
  • If the participant is their own authorized rep (ie- women participants), assign the card to the authorized rep
  • If you notice a card has been assigned to a WIC ID, please re-assign it to the authorized rep.

50th Campaign March Toolkit

NWA’s 50^th Campaign just published the March toolkit and another inspiring video. We encourage local agencies to use these free outreach and marketing toolkits to promote and spread the word on the awesome things WIC has done and continues to do. Please see the links for the toolkit and video below.

March Outreach Toolkit

March WIC 50th Promotional Video

WIC Fun Fact

In 1979, the idea to develop a National Association of WIC Directors was born during a USDA-sponsored event when a group of WIC Directors gathered informally and discussed the idea to form an association to represent their mutual interests. In 1984, an election of Association officers took place as part of the first annual conference.  In 2004, the Association’s name was changed to National WIC Association (NWA). NWA is the non-profit voice of the 12,000 public health nutrition service provider agencies and the over 6.3 million mothers, babies, and young children served by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). NWA provides education, guidance, and support to WIC staff; and drives innovation and advocacy to strengthen WIC for the benefit of the Nation’s mothers and young children.

Weekly Risk Code Highlight

Risk Code 321 – History of Spontaneous Abortion, Fetal or Neonatal Loss

Defined as:

• Pregnant Women
  • Any history of fetal or neonatal death or 2 or more spontaneous abortions.
• Breastfeeding Women
  • Most recent pregnancy in which there was a multifetal gestation with one or more fetal or neonatal deaths but with one of more infants still living.
• Non-Breastfeeding Women
  • Spontaneous abortion, fetal or neonatal loss in most recent pregnancy.

Spontaneous abortion, fetal and neonatal death are defined as follows:

• Spontaneous Abortion (SAB)
  • The spontaneous termination of gestation < 20 weeks or of a fetus weighing <500 grams.
• Fetal Death
  • The spontaneous termination of a gestation at ≥ 20 weeks.
• Neonatal Death
  • The death of an infant within 0-28 days of life.

What WIC Can Do:

• Encourage women to meet with their healthcare provider to discuss developing a reproductive plan and birth spacing, as appropriate.
• https://www.cdc.gov/preconception/index.html
• Encourage folic acid supplementation.
• https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/index.html
• Encourage healthful eating patterns consistent with the Dietary Guidelines of Americans.
• https://www.usda.gov/topics/food-and-nutrition/dietary-health
• Reinforce positive lifestyle behaviors that lead to positive health outcomes.
• Refer participants, as appropriate, to other community resources.
• Encourage women to take prenatal vitamins if considering become pregnant again.