There are many benefits to families participating in the WIC program. WIC improves the health status of nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children. Furthermore, many studies have shown that WIC is also cost effective.
Pregnant Women on WIC:
- Have increased access to healthy foods.
- Have a better diet.
- Get prenatal care earlier in pregnancy.
- Are more likely to have healthy weight gain during pregnancy.
- Have fewer premature babies.
- Have fewer low and very low birth-weight babies.
- Experience fewer fetal and infant deaths.
Infants and Children On WIC:
- Have increased access to healthy foods.
- Have a better diet.
- Are more likely to have normal childhood growth.
- Have lower rates for childhood anemia.
- Have better immunization rates.
- Have better access to pediatric health care.
- Have increased vocabulary and memory scores.
Cost Benefits of WIC:
- Every WIC dollar used to serve pregnant women saves $1.92 to $4.21 in Medicaid costs.
- WIC reduces the rate of very low birth-weight babies by 44%. It costs between $30,000 and $70,000 to raise a low or very low birth-weight baby to normal weight.