Participating in WIC nutrition program improved coping strategies in infant formula crisis, experts flag

08 Dec 2023 --- Families participating in the US Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) coped better with the 2022 infant formula shortage than non-participating income-eligible families. 

WIC participants were less likely to use potentially unsafe infant feeding practices, such as using dairy milk or milk alternatives, watering down formula or using homemade formula. They were also more prone to switching to other sources, such as changing the brand or type of formula used or getting it from another source. 

“By examining how WIC participation could be related to infant feeding practices during the formula shortage, our study adds important findings on how WIC can support families during times of crisis,” says the study’s first author, Namrata Sanjeevi, research associate at Washington State University’s Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. 

“WIC provides a safety net for infants and children, and early childhood WIC participation has long-lasting benefits for health, well-being and academic achievement.” 

The authors note that additional research is needed to determine whether or not their findings could be attributed to expanded flexibilities that aimed to maximize formula access for WIC participants during the shortage. 

Survey outcomes 
The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, evaluated how WIC participation impacted families’ experience and coping strategies during the infant formula shortage. 

The researchers used data from the US Household Pulse Survey, an online survey measuring household experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The study includes data from 1,542 respondents with an income under 185% of the federal poverty level — the threshold for WIC participation — and children under 18 months. Of the respondents, 60% reported participating in WIC. 

The researchers suggest more flexible WIC policies may have eased the burden on participating families during the shortage.While the researchers did not have data on why participants chose specific coping strategies, Sanjeevi speculates that the findings indicate that more flexible WIC policies may have eased the burden on participating families during the shortage. 

Moreover, the US government improved access to different products for WIC participants by temporarily waiving restrictions on WIC benefits that typically limit participants to the type, size and brand of formula they could obtain. Most of these waivers were in place until at least the end of 2022.

Sanjeevi also suggests that the program may have protected participants from surging formula prices as WIC participants receive formula free of cost. 

Infant formula shortage 
The 2022 infant formula shortage in the US resulted from product recalls by Abbott Nutrition, a significant formula manufacturer, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the supply chain crisis and post-pandemic effects. 

About half of the infants in the WIC program — which serves over 1.4 million babies — received formula produced by the manufacturer that recalled its products. 

As a result of the shortage, prices of formula products increased by 18% in mid-2022, while nationwide out-of-stock rates reached 70% by May 2022. 

During this shortage, 48.5% of parents using formula resorted to potentially harmful feeding methods, which amounted to only 8% before the crisis. 

WIC program underutilized 
Senior study author Pablo Monsivais, an associate professor at the Washington State University’s College of Medicine, explains that the WIC participation rates in the study are consistent with federal statistics. 

Last month, the USDA revealed that only 51% of eligible mothers, infants and children participated in WIC. 

“We need to do more to understand and eliminate barriers that keep families from participating in this proven, cost-effective program,” says Monsivais. He details that research indicates that every dollar invested in the program saves almost US$2.50 in medical, educational and productivity costs.

“WIC has been put under the microscope again and again,” he concludes. “Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that the program protects the health and well-being of low-income families and makes good economic sense.”

By Jolanda van Hal