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No Vacation for Hunger
When school's out, kids still need to eat. Check out our WIC Can Help page to learn more about summer food programs that provide free, nutritious meals to kids 18 and younger in community settings.
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Health Benefits of Strength Training
Even if you don't want bigger biceps or six-pack abs, strength training can help you boost heart health, control blood sugar, trim tummy fat, and reach other health goals.
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Omnibus Funds Rest of FY 2018
Hours before a third government shutdown, a $1.3 trillion
omnibus funding bill
was signed March 23, with $700 billion for the military ($66 billion over FY17) and $591 billion for domestic agencies ($52 billion over FY17). The bill does not include resolve for DACA children or full funding for the border wall. WIC is funded at $6.175 billion which includes $150 million for the contingency fund, $60 million for breastfeeding peer counselors, and $14 million for infrastructure. Due to reduced WIC participation the bill includes a $800 million rescission, which is a second rescission for this fiscal year, for a net funding level of $5.35 billion - $150 million less than FY17. While this should be adequate to meet caseload and food costs, Nutrition Services and Administration funds for education and counseling will continue to be stretched. In addition to the WIC funding, Farmers' Market Nutrition Program funds were set at the same level as FY17, $18.5 million. ACTION: Check out summaries of key funding allocations:
NWA Weekly Policy Update
, and
Prevention Institute
which includes top line funding amounts for public health, environmental and other issues.
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CWA Bill Monitor & Budget Proposals
CWA is supporting and monitoring several pieces of legislation in multiple areas - breastfeeding, public health, maternal mental health - that will be important for California families. Among the bills our board has voted to support are:
SB 937 (Wiener)
, which would require a lactation room or location to include features such as access to a sink and refrigerator in close proximity to the employee's workspace,
AB 1871 (Bonta)
which would guarantee at least one meal be available at school for low-income children, and
SB 900 (Wiener and Arambula)
, which would expand access to locally-grown fresh produce to CalFresh participants. CWA is also co-sponsoring a resolution with California Breastfeeding Coalition, kindly put forth by Assemblymember Rubio, to declare August Breastfeeding Month in California, as well as a proposal in the State Budget to seek a long overdue rate increase for quality breast pumps in the Medi-Cal program.
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March for Our Lives
Demonstrators flooded streets across the globe in public protests last Saturday, calling for action against gun violence. Hundreds of thousands of marchers turned out, in the most ambitious show of force yet from a student-driven movement that emerged after the recent massacre at a South Florida high school. We are inspired by the organization and leadership of the students of Parkland and elsewhere, and we also admire the ongoing efforts of Black Lives Matter in Sacramento and around the country - gun violence must stop in all its forms. An estimated 4,800 new voters were registered during the March for Our Lives, and we look forward to increased voter engagement around this and other issues. ACTION: Are you
registered to vote
? It's not too early to make sure!
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CA Dietetic Intern Pushing Nutrition Month Resolution
Kudos to Kern County Board of Supervisors, particularly Ms. Leticia Perez, County Supervisor 5th District, for recognizing March as National Nutrition Month. Shout out to Erick Medina, representing the Dietetic Interns at Clinica Sierra Vista WIC Program, in Bakersfield, who
addressed
the Supervisors regarding the theme,
Go Further with Food
.
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Mother-Baby Friendly Workplace Awards
Each year in May, the California Breastfeeding Coalition recognizes businesses for their exemplary efforts to support lactating employees by creating breastfeeding policies, ensuring all staff are aware of their policies and talking with expectant mothers about accommodating their breastfeeding needs when they return to work. These criteria ensure compliance with existing California and Federal laws requiring employers to provide time and space for employees who want to express their milk.
ACTION:
Nominate a business
for supporting lactation accommodation, by March 29th, and come to the awards ceremony, May 8, 11am, State Capitol.
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Conference Countdown!
In just one short month, we'll be in San Diego at CWA's 26th
Annual Conference & Trade Show
,
April 29-May 2
, for professional education, networking, inspiration and fun! Be sure to check the
updated agenda
and plan how you'll earn professional education units as a RN, RD, IBCLC or other lactation provider. A sampling of topics includes: responsive infant feeding; women, trauma & addiction; WIC & farmers' markets; eWIC; responding to disasters; texting technology; housing and food security; and more!
ACTION:
Follow us on
Instagram
and
Facebook
and get ready to participate in our eWIC-themed
CWA GO! Scavenger Hunt! What is your favorite or craziest workout gear- leg warmers, head bands, muscle shirts, crazy leggings? Get your exercise each morning and also win the workout gear contest. Register
before April 13th
, or register on site!
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500 Baby Friendly Hospitals!
Baby Friendly USA announced last week the US has
500 hospitals
or birthing centers designated as Baby Friendly, representing 24% of U.S. births. These facilities' maternity care practices are designed to optimize mother-baby bonding and to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in the first few days of a new baby's life. This is a significant jump in designated facilities since 2010 when less than 100 birthing facilities were designated Baby Friendly. California has been a part of the effort to improve hospital practices and the continuum of care. Our collective efforts have resulted in
96 California hospitals
being designated as Baby Friendly and breastfeeding initiation and exclusive
in-hospital breastfeeding
rates continuing to increase.
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C-Sections, Gut Bacteria May Contribute to Overweight Kids
Researchers report that overweight mothers are more likely to have a Cesarean delivery, and that babies born by Cesarean to those mothers have species of gut bacteria different from those in babies born to women with lower weights. The difference in the gut microbiome in infants of overweight mothers contribute to an increased risk for obesity. The study included 935 mother-infant pairs. Compared to children born to normal weight mothers, those born vaginally to overweight women were more than three times as likely to be overweight by age 3. But C-section babies born to overweight mothers were more than five times as likely to be overweight. For normal weight mothers, vaginal or Cesarean delivery made no difference in the risk for overweight babies. The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, controlled for breastfeeding, antibiotic exposure and other factors.
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Effectiveness of Parenting Strategies
Most parenting programs aim to teach parents how to reduce their children's disruptive behavior.
New research looked
at more than 150 studies of these programs, finding differences in what works best according to whether or not children already showed behavior problems. Researchers say that
when severely disruptive behavior
had already emerged in children, a combination of teaching parents how to manage behavior along with relationship-building strategies was more effective than just teaching parents how to manage behavior. Yet when disruptive behavior had not yet emerged as a problem, teaching parents both strategies was not more helpful than teaching behavior-management strategies alone. Severely disruptive behavior was defined as openly uncooperative and hostile behavior, including frequent temper tantrums, excessive arguing with adults, and deliberate attempts to annoy or upset others. Behavior-management strategies include praise to increase positive behavior and negative consequences like timeouts to reduce disruptive behavior. Relationship-building strategies include encouraging parents to be sensitive to their children's needs.
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Introducing Complementary Foods
Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2009-14),
researchers
using even a broader definition of complementary foods, reported a decline in the number of infants being offered foods before the recommended ages. However, many infants are still being introduced to complementary foods early; in this sample of 1600, 16% of infants younger than 4 months and 38% of infants aged 4-6 months, were offered complementary foods. Adjusting for variables, infants who never breastfed, or nursed for less than 4 months, were more likely to be introduced earlier to foods.
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Health Department Capacity for Zika Response
The National Association of County and City Health Officials has published a report titled "
Maternal Child Health Capacity for Zika Response
." With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NACCHO surveyed local health departments in 10 high-priority states to assess their capacity to monitor, track, and support mothers and infants potentially affected by the Zika virus. The report highlights key findings and recommendations for strengthening the response capacity of local maternal and child health programs. You can access CDPH Zika resources here.
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Connections Between Racism and Health
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has launched a webpage called "
Race, Racism and Health
" to collect resources and research examining the connections between race, racism, and health in the United States, including blog posts, reports, and program updates.
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 Interactive Family Leave Map
The LGBT Movement Advancement Project has released an interactive map and corresponding table titled "
Family Leave Laws
." The map illustrates family leave policies by state that are extended (or not) to same-sex couples and parents. Most states are sadly lacking when it comes to granting their workers leave to care for a same-sex partner or for a child to whom the parent does not have a legal or biological tie.
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 Kaiser Women's Health Survey 2017
This extensive, user-friendly report is packed with recent
data relevant to women's health
including access to care, the health care delivery system, reproductive health, work life and family health. Among many highlights related to low-income women: 30% report fair to poor health but are more likely to lack access to care;
30% of Latinas, 23% of rural women, 34% of uninsured women, and 19% of women who have Medicaid got their most recent gynecological exam at
community health centers or Planned Parenthood; and women covered by Medicaid pay for some preventive services at a lower rate than women with private insurance. While 70% of women with children are in the workforce and are the primary caregiver for family health, they
have fewer workplace benefits such as paid leave, retirement plans, and paid sick days, which is especially costly for low-income women.
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