Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program

More Fish for Breastfeeding Moms

The WIC supplemental food program helps certain children up to age five and their moms buy healthy foods. In 2007, a new list of WIC-approved foods came out. Both the amount of fish and the varieties of fish fully-breastfeeding moms can have were expanded. Now these special moms are offered 30 ounces total of canned salmon, canned mackerel, canned sardines, and canned light tuna.

 Eating fish full of omega-3s is especially important for women and young children for the following reasons:

• Fish helps build a young child's brain and eyes
• Fish can lower an adult's chance of heart disease by 30-40 percent
• Fish is thought to keep moms from getting depression during and after pregnancy
• Fish can help moms return to and stay at a healthy weight

The new types of fish offered in the WIC program are more than just healthy. Canned salmon, canned mackerel, canned sardines, and canned light tuna are all tasty and easy to prepare. Below is a sheet of recipe cards with four ways you can make each type of fish.