Free supplies of prenatal vitamins are now available for pregnant and postpartum women in St. Charles County’s Women, Infants and Children program.
The St. Charles County Department of Public Health partnered with the California-based nonprofit, Vitamin Angels, to provide 750 bottles of prenatal vitamins. Megan Hickey, a registered dietitian and the program manager for the county’s WIC program, said prenatal vitamins are key to the healthy development of a baby.
“Typically, a lot of our moms don’t have the income to purchase prenatal vitamins on their own prior to waiting for health insurance authorization,” Hickey said. “We partnered with this agency in order to provide free prenatal vitamins to them.”
The clients will receive a six-month supply of vitamins. Each capsule includes a mix of 15 vitamins and minerals to help meet the nutritional needs of the pregnant woman and developmental needs of the child.
“Preventing neural tube defects, improving birth weight, ensuring proper development, it’s very important when we have moms that can be lower income that don’t necessarily get the nutrients that they need during pregnancy or even childbearing years,” Hickey said.
The response has been positive. Hickey said the demand for free access to prenatal vitamins has been growing. Many women would come to the office asking if it was a service they offered.
“The answer was always, ‘no,’” she said. “‘You will have to get those through your doctor. Wait for insurance.’ So now that we’re able to offer these we have a lot of moms that are very grateful for the opportunity just to have these on hand.”
Clients interested in receiving a supply of vitamins through the health department are required to attend a nutritional counseling appointment at the county’s Health Services Clinic at 1650 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles.
