Congratulations to DHEC’s Lowcountry WIC Team who recently had an initiative featured in the Journal of Perinatology! 

In 2022, the Lowcountry WIC Service on Wheels (SoW) partnered with the children’s hospital at MUSC in Charleston to offer weekly intake appointments to moms with infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (NICU). The hospital was selected for a study to evaluate a single center quality improvement (QI) collaborative designed to increase the provision of mother’s own milk (MOM) at discharge to premature infants through evidence-based practices while targeting perinatal health disparities. 

This partnership helped improve health equity and access to hospital-grade pumps, and the collaborative increased the percentage of preterm infants receiving MOM at discharge and reduced the number of mothers who discontinue pumping during the NICU hospitalization. 

According to the article, “to eliminate transportation barriers, the WIC SOW parked at the hospital entrance and functioned as a mobile clinic for the initial WIC appointment for mothers who qualify for services. Services rendered included a monetary benefit card, maternal health screenings and a Medela Symphony® HGP [breast pump]. Before this study, mothers were anecdotally reporting waiting 2–3 weeks after discharge to obtain pumps from WIC at their local offices.” 

Study details and results were published in the December 20, 2023, edition of the Journal of Perinatology. 

The SoW program eliminates transportation barriers for parents, guardians, and caretakers, making it easier for them to receive services. It is a mobile unit that provides full WIC services in convenient locations for families in a shorter time and without sitting in a waiting room.  

To see if the WIC van will be coming near you, visit https://scdhec.gov/health/women-infants-children-wic-nutrition-program/wic-mobile-van-calendars 

Learn more about WIC in South Carolina at scdhec.gov/wic.