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Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar; 283 workers nationwide, including 83 in CO, killed on the job; IL health officials work to combat vaccine hesitancy, stop measles spread; New research shows effects of nitrates on IA's most vulnerable.

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The Pentagon begins removing transgender troops as legal battles continue. Congress works to fix a SNAP job-training penalty. Advocates raise concerns over immigrant data searches, and U.S. officials report progress in trade talks with China.

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Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

WIC funding cuts could worsen Ohio maternal, infant health

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Thursday, December 14, 2023   

Food banks in Ohio say proposed cuts to the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants, and Children would be devastating for more than 100,000 Ohioans.

Advocates argue WIC provides critical nutrition benefits, breastfeeding support and other vital services to low-income pregnant and post-partum people - and their children under age five.

Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks Hope Lane-Gavin pointed out that WIC equips new moms and babies with essential items that food banks typically don't carry, including formula.

"That is a huge hole of the food banks," said Lane-Gavin. "We just don't have the infrastructure to support the needs of infants."

The proposals in both the U.S. House and Senate appropriations bills would result in WIC turning away 600,000 eligible new parents and young children, and would slash benefits for nearly five million people nationwide.

Lane-Gavin said WIC is a key prevention strategy for avoiding poor health outcomes among new moms and babies - including pre-term birth, low birth-weight and postpartum distress.

She warned that waitlists and benefit reductions would impact communities, and also affect related safety-net programs.

"All the other benefits tied to the WIC program - other than the obvious, which is food security," said Lane-Gavin, "is at risk for these low-income, vulnerable moms, and moms of color."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show maternal deaths in the months after giving birth - which are mostly preventable - are becoming more common, and are already more than three times higher among Black women compared with white women.




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