The March of Dimes released its 2015 Premature Birth Report Card today giving our state a “B” grade. New this year, the annual report card ranked state cities and revealed Arizona has a 9 percent preterm birth rate. The report card grades Arizona cities with the greatest number of births on their 2013 preterm birth rates. [...]
Between April and September, the Arizona WIC Program's outreach efforts included a new project to increase awareness of the WIC Program and increase participation among eligible women, infants, and children. The project has been a success with an increase of more than 10,000 participants a month. In September, more than 153,000 individuals received WIC services [...]
We received notice from the United States Department of Agriculture that the state plans for both the Arizona WIC Program and the Arizona Nutrition Network were approved for federal fiscal Year 2016. While USDA has not yet finalized the budget for the coming year, the Arizona WIC Program was funded for more than $130 million [...]
Director Cara M. Christ, MD, (center), along with WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator Anne Whitmire, PHS Assistant Director Sheila Sjolander and Nutrition and Community Services Manager Linda Yee, present the award to Yavapai WIC Director Willa Miller (far right). Congratulations to Yavapai County Community Health Services WIC Program. They will be recognized for their [...]
Getting kids to eat healthy is hard, especially for busy moms. The Arizona WIC program now offers new foods to help families provide nutritious meals. Yogurt, whole wheat pasta, and new brands of cereal and baby foods for older babies are now available through the WIC program. The full list of foods includes many fresh, frozen and canned vegetables, [...]
Fewer Arizona children are overweight or obese because of strides in nutrition and physical activity programs sponsored by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the work of partners and programs around the state. The percentage of children two- to five- years old who were overweight or obese in the Arizona WIC Program has fallen [...]
Research in 2014 found increasing evidence that a person’s nutrition and physical activity in the first 5 years of life has a huge impact on the person’s weight and health status as an adult. One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine this year suggested that overweight 5-year-olds are 300% more likely to [...]
Increasing the percentage of women that choose to breastfeed is a critical evidence-based practice for addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Here in Arizona, we have a lot to celebrate during World Breastfeeding Week- because of our collective work to increase breastfeeding is paying off. Arizona’s percentage of babies who begin breastfeeding has jumped to 83% [...]
We’re happy to unveil the new Arizona WIC Program website, which has been redesigned with a fresh new look that is more user friendly. Last year the WIC webpage had more than 76,000 unique visitors with nearly 350,000 page views- making it one of our most popular sites. The redesigned site includes a Find a [...]
Being born too soon is the number one killer of infants in Arizona and in the nation (birth defects is a close second). Death rates from prematurity are declining but babies born too soon (before 37 weeks) often face medical, developmental and social challenges as they get older. More than 8,000 babies in Arizona were born too soon [...]
