Health Foundation debuts renovated WIC department
San Benito Health Foundation hosted an open house for their
newly renovated Women Infants and Children’s department June 25.
The space includes a group education room for nutrition classes,
offices for one-on-one consultations and a lactation room for
breast-feeding moms to meet with a lactation consultant.
The open house also highlighted some recent changes to the types
of food that mothers and children can get through the WIC program,
a federal program, which strives to offer nutritional foods to
low-income pregnant women and mothers with children who are up to
age 5, as well as the children up to age 5.
”
They added fruits and vegetables, and whole grains,
”
said Margaret Ornelas, the WIC manager and a certified lactation
consultant.
As part of the open house, the staff put together a spread of
healthy foods for visitors to snack on from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Some
of the dishes included whole-wheat pasta with vegetables, cheese
and crackers, cous cous and more. In the lobby, the children
waiting for appointments made healthy fruit and yogurt parfaits
with low-fat yogurt, frozen berries and nuts.
Health Foundation debuts renovated WIC department
San Benito Health Foundation hosted an open house for their newly renovated Women Infants and Children’s department June 25. The space includes a group education room for nutrition classes, offices for one-on-one consultations and a lactation room for breast-feeding moms to meet with a lactation consultant.
The open house also highlighted some recent changes to the types of food that mothers and children can get through the WIC program, a federal program, which strives to offer nutritional foods to low-income pregnant women and mothers with children who are up to age 5, as well as the children up to age 5.
“They added fruits and vegetables, and whole grains,” said Margaret Ornelas, the WIC manager and a certified lactation consultant.
As part of the open house, the staff put together a spread of healthy foods for visitors to snack on from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Some of the dishes included whole-wheat pasta with vegetables, cheese and crackers, cous cous and more. In the lobby, the children waiting for appointments made healthy fruit and yogurt parfaits with low-fat yogurt, frozen berries and nuts.
The WIC program includes nutritional education through one-on-one consultations, group nutrition classes, breast-feeding consultations and allowances for food for pregnant women and women with children under 5 years of age.
“It is an important program in this economy,” Ornelas said. “One packet for a pregnant mother includes $127 a month for healthy items like low-fat milk.”
Other items included $10 for fresh vegetables, fruits or herbs, dry beans, juice, cheese and peanut butter. Children from birth to 5 years old are eligible for $84 a month.
“That’s a big impact,” Ornelas said. “On top of that, moms who are exclusively breast-feeding get $140 a month.”
The WIC packets, the term used to refer to the different packages of items families can receive, were updated in October 2009 to allow families to receive more items. Some of the changes included allowing $10 a month for fruits and vegetables, an allowance of whole grains, and canned tuna, salmon or sardines, depending on whether the mother is exclusively breast-feeding, mostly breast-feeding, doing some breast-feeding or no breast-feeding.
Rosa Vivian Fernandez, the president and CEO of San Benito Health Foundation, said the changes to WIC have “enhanced families ability to go make the right decisions” about what types of foods to buy and eat. It helps them make good decisions.”
The WIC program at San Benito Health Foundation services 2,700 women, infants and children a month.
“We certainly encourage women to come and explore [the options],” Fernandez said. “Some families may not be aware that they are eligible.”
She added that people who have not accessed social services before may feel overwhelmed and one of the goals of the renovated office spaces is to provide a welcoming atmosphere.
“We encourage breast-feeding and we have a lactation room where moms can nurse their babies,” Fernandez said.
Some of the incentives for new mothers to breast-feed exclusively is that they are provided with more food in their packet to keep the mothers’ nutritional intake healthy. They also receive more baby food when their infant turns 6 months of age. They get 98 jars of baby food, including 64 of baby fruits and vegetables, 31 of baby meats and three- to eight-ounce boxes of baby cereal.
Mothers who are breast-feeding and using formula, or just exclusively using formula receive 32 jars of baby fruits and vegetables and the three- to eight-ounce boxes of baby cereal.
Ornelas said the support for breast-feeding moms starts when they are in the hospital, right after giving birth.
“We will call the new moms and provide them with support,” Ornelas said. “We will call them and ask how things are going. We will enroll the infant by phone. We want them to be confident that they can nurse.”
She added that in recent years the rate of new mothers who breast-feed exclusively went from 12.2 percent of those enrolled to 23.6 percent.
“Everything starts in the hospital,” Ornelas said. “Some women think they are the type of mom who can’t nurse or that can’t produce enough milk, but that’s not true.”
In addition to the lactation consultations, and additional food for breast-feeding mothers, WIC provides some other resources. Breast-feeding mothers can get a free nursing bra from WIC, and Ornelas showed the stock on hand in the nursing mom’s room, which included many sizes and varieties of bras. Mothers who work can also get an electric pump to use when they are away from the baby, and an insulated cooler to store the milk.
“We try to make it a lot easier for them,” Ornelas said, as she gave a tour of the nursing room.
The room was decorated simply, with a rocking chair and a light switch dimmer.
“We want it to feel like you are at home,” she said.
She added that WIC has always promoted breast-feeding, but has been especially proactive in the last few years.
“They’ve been pushing it even more,” Ornelas said.
She said that one of the benefits of breast-feeding is a healthier baby, since studies show babies that are breastfed are less sick and have fewer issues with obesity as they age.
Fernandez said the nutrition education focuses on the whole family.
“We look at generations,” she said. “With diabetes, it may not just be mom, but maybe grandma has it.”
Ornelas said the nutrition classes teach about portion sizes and changing eating habits. The women can get their Body Mass Index measured and then when they come back for the next class, after implementing some of the healthy eating tips, they can see if they lost any weight.
The families can take home a cook book entitled “Let’s Cook,” which has recipes in English and in Spanish that incorporate all the ingredients they can purchase through WIC. The cookbook stresses the use of whole-wheat bread, tortillas and pastas as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
“It has to be part of our lives,” Ornelas said. “At the beginning it might be hard, but they just need to get started.”
