UCONNDAHSCoordinatedPrograminDietetics

Diet3235Winter/Spring2015
WICreflectiontemplate/TWOPAGES

Name:KatieSpragueWICSitevisited:TVCCANorwichWIC
**Youmayrespondonthisformandsendbackasanattachment.
Approximatenumberofclientsservedatthissiteonthisday:20(fromthehoursof9am1pm)
DiscussthecounselingsessionsyouwereinvitedtositinonwiththeWICnutritionist.How
manysessionswereyouabletositinon?DiscussthenutritiontopicstheWICcounselor
reviewedwiththemom/dad.DiscusstheprocessofnutritionassessmentatthisWIC?
Whatwerethenutritionmessagesthatwererepeatedclienttoclient?Weremostofthe
messagesaboutchildrensnutritionalhealth,oradultsnutritionhealthorabalanced
combinationofboth?Werethereanylanguageissues/barriersyounoted?Ifso,howwere
theyhandled?
Isatinon3nutritioncounselingsessions,2administrativesessions(signingupanew
clientforWIC),and2breastfeedinggroupsessions.IfthemotherhadababythentheWIC
counselorwouldfirstaskifthemotherwasbreastfeedingorgivingformula.Nextshewouldask
howmuchthebabyistakinginandhowoftentheyarefeeding.Shewouldthentalkabout
introducingnewfoodstothebaby(iftheywerearoundorolderthan6months)andhowtotellif
thebabypresentsallergysymptomsornot.Aftertalkingaboutthebabysintakethecounselor
thenmovedontothemothersintake.Ifthemotherwaspregnantcurrentlyshewouldaskabout
theamountofweightgainedduringpregnancysofarandwouldaskthemotherifshehadany
concerns.Ifthemotherwaspostpartumshewouldaskifthemothersappetitehadincreased,
decreasedorstayedatanormalrange.Lastly,thecounselorwouldgooverthefoodpackagethat
themotherwaseligiblefor.Shewentthroughthepackagediscussingtheoptionssuchas
produce,cereal,milk,cheese,eggs,protein,formulaandmore.Thereweresomeinstanceswhere
themotherwouldhavetochooseafood(peanutbutterorbeansforexample)andotherswhere
shedidnotqualifyforcertainfoods.OverallfromthesessionsInoticedthecounselorremained
nonjudgmentaltowardstheclientseveniftheyreportedoddnutritionalhabits.Thefocusof
thesessionwasmostlyonthebabysnutritionhealth(iftherewasababy)orthepregnant
mothersnutritionhealth.TherewerenolanguagebarriersnotedinthesessionsIsatinon.
Discussnutritioneducationmaterials.WeretheyinEnglishandSpanish?Other
languages?Werethenutritionmessagesatthissitealsoonthewallsasposters,orwere
thereasupplyofhandouts?DidthedietitiandistributeANDdiscussthematerials?Didthe
WICnutritionistusefoodmodelsorproductlabelstomakeapointwithaclient?

MostoftheeducationmaterialsIobservedwereinEnglishandSpanish.Forexample
therewerehandouts,brochuresandpacketswithexplanationsaboutWICandthenutrition
programinbothEnglishandSpanish.Thereweretwomainbulletinboards,however,thatwere
bothinEnglishonly.Duringabreastfeedinggroupsessiontherewerepacketsandhandoutsthat
wereinbothEnglishandSpanishandthecounselorexplainedandthereadtheinformationtothe
clientsattendingthesession.Withintheoneononesessions,dieticiansdistributedinformational
materialsaswellandspenttimetalkingwiththeclientsaboutthematerialonthesehandouts.In
thebreastfeedingclassthenutritionistusedamodelofwhatateaspoonofmilklooksliketo
provethepointthatnewbornstomachscanonlyholdaverysmallamountofmilk.However,I
didnotseetheuseoffoodmodelsorproductlabelsinanyoftheoneononesessions.

Whenyouthinkaboutbehaviorchangetheoriesandmodelsyouarelearningaboutin
Valsclass,whichonescouldyouapplytotheseWICclientsinthesesessions?Selecta
counselingsessionyousatinonanddiscussthelevelatwhichyoubelievethemom/dad
appearstobeintheStagesofChangeModel,andsupportyourargument:precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and/or maintenance.
One counseling session included a mother with a newborn who was in the 95th percentile
for her weight category. The nutritionist was advising the mother to monitor the babys intake to
make sure the baby was not being overfed. The mother kept repeating how cute her baby was
and how adorable her chubbiness was, and she did not seem to be listening to anything the
dietitian was saying regarding her babys weight. I would classify this mother in the precontemplation stage of the Stages of Change Model because she is currently unaware or in denial
of the possible issue and is not planning on making any changes to prevent any further issues.
She did not want to believe that her baby was possibly overweight and did not take the dietician
seriously when she told her to be careful about overfeeding. I think in order for the mother to
progress from this stage she will need to be shown the growth chart to physically see where her
babys weight is compared to other babies of the same gender and age.
Please share how your afternoon session went. Were you able to converse with some
moms/dads? How many? How did you feel while discussing nutrition topics with WIC
clients? Did you feel more capable as the afternoon went on?
Duringtheafternoonsessionwewereabletoconversewithsevenpeople.Thesewere
peoplethatnotonlylookedatourtableandtooksomehandouts,butalsostoodwithustotalk
aboutthetopicsdiscussedonthehandouts.Therewereabout1012otherswhosawourtable
andhandoutsbutdidnotwanttohaveaconversationwithusaboutthematerial.Ilovedtalking
totheclientsaboutnutritiontopicsanenjoyedwhentheyaskedquestionsorhadconcernsthat
KellyandIwereabletohelpanswer.Bytheendoftheafternoonitfeltverycomfortableand
easytotalktotheclientsaboutthenutritioninformation.Wegavetheclientsinformationabout
cookingathomewiththeirkidsanhowtogettheminvolvedinthekitchenaswellasproper
portionsizesforparentsandkids.

Whenyouthinkabouttheclientflowduringtheday,andthewaythesiteisphysicallyset
up,atwhatpointsdoyouenvisionmoredirectandindirectnutritioneducationcouldtake
place?
Ithinktheafternoon,fromabout1pmoniswhenthemostdirectandindirectnutrition
cantakeplace.Thisiswhenthewaitingroomwasthebusiestandalsohadmorechildreninit
(probablybecausetheywerepickedupfrompreschool).Whentherearemorechildreninthe
waitingroomitseasiertogetparentstotalktoyouaswellbyattractingtheirchildrentothe
handoutsonthetable.Eveniftheparentsdonotwanttotalktoustheycanstilltakethe
informationalmaterialswehaveorlisteninaswetalktootherclients.

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