Red Alert Babies: When WIC Newborn Babies Have Lost Too Much Weight

Date: July 26
Time: noon - 1 p.m. (Central time)

Breastfeeding assessments are a critical part of WIC services that are offered to WIC families. At PHFE WIC, we wanted to improve our newborn screening tools to ensure that staff were making appropriate recommendations to our mothers. Staff were trained to weigh newborn babies in a dry diaper and assess the infant's weight compared to their birthweight. We created a "traffic light" schematic with "Red, Yellow and Green" zones, so that staff could easily identify babies who had lost more weight than expected. Staff were trained on the appropriate Plan of Care for "Red Alert" zone babies which includes a temporary supplementation plan for feeding the baby, protecting mother's milk supply, and a referral to the baby's doctor. This session will describe how the Red Alert Baby project improves both the breastfeeding assessment and the identification of babies with higher than expected weight loss in the WIC Program.

CPE Level: 1
CPEU: 1
Performance Indicators: 9.6.1, 10.1.4, 9.6.11

Learning Objectives

• Describe the reasons behind the need for early infant assessments at WIC.
• Learn about the tools PHFE WIC staff are using in infant assessments.
• Understand how the Red Alert Baby project and the tools used in this project both improve the breastfeeding assessment and identification of babies with higher than expected weight loss that should be referred to their HCP.

Speaker

Cindy Clapp, MS, RD, IBCLC

Cindy Clapp received her BS from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and became an RD after completing her Dietetic Internship from Cal State Long Beach. She received her MS in Community Nutrition from Cal State Long Beach. After having her second child, Cindy became an IBCLC because of her passion for breastfeeding. She has worked for the PHFE WIC for 30 years, of which time she has worked with the Peer Counselor Program for the last 12 years. She was promoted to the position of BF Coordinator and PC Manager in 2017 and then Deputy of BF Services in 2019. She loves the WIC Program and is passionate about helping moms and babies.