Page 436

WIC Anthropometrics and Laboratory Guidance 1

WIC Anthropometrics Guidance Introduction In the WIC Program, anthropometric assessment involves measuring weight and length (or standing height) at specific times, depending on age and nutritional status. The measurements are compared with a reference population of healthy people by using growth charts for infants and children, and weight gain grids for pregnant women. This activity is part of the WIC nutrition and health assessment. Much can be learned about the nutritional status and general health of WIC applicants and participants when these measurements are used along with nutrition behaviors and blood values. These measurements are required to help determine WIC eligibility. The WIC CPA has an important role in helping pregnant women understand their pregnancy weight gain, and in helping parents and caregivers understand the growth patterns of their children.

Factors Affecting Growth Weight and length or standing height measurements of WIC applicants and participants are essential to: 1. Identify malnourished women, infants, and children. 2. Identify women, infants, and children at nutrition risk (in need of early counseling to prevent nutrition-related health problems). 3. Reassure parents that their children are growing normally; help reassure pregnant women that their weight gain is progressing normally. 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition services.

Growth and development are affected by several factors that interact with one another to determine an individual’s growth pattern, including: 1. The quality and quantity of dietary intake, and environmental exposure to disease and illness. 2. Activity and exercise patterns, or heavy smoking and drug use during pregnancy. 3. Genetic factors (inherited family characteristics). 4. Hormones influence child growth patterns, and hormonal changes during pregnancy influence appetite and prenatal health. (“Morning sickness” is a common experience for many women early in pregnancy and is due, in part, to an increase in the secretion of a hormone called progesterone.)

Required Measurement Intervals Height (or length) and weight must be obtained for all participants at each certification and mid-cert health check, at a minimum. If a child can’t be accurately measured lying or standing due to a medical / physical disability, such as cerebral palsy, the measurement is to be obtained by the participant’s health care provider. Self-reporting of height and weight is not acceptable, except in the case of infant birth data.