This study compared usual care with an intervention comprising hospital and home visits, as well as telephone support by a community health nurse/peer counselor team for 6 months after delivery, for low-income mothers. The results suggested that women who received the community health intervention breastfed longer than did the women who received usual care. The women in the intervention group also had fewer infant sick visits and reported use of fewer medications for their infants than did the women who received usual care. The intervention's cost ($301 per mother) was partially offset by cost savings on formula and healthcare.
This study described the factors associated with the smoking status of low-income women during pregnancy and postpartum. Results showed that lower relapse rates among spontaneous quitters indicated a need to foster an environment that encourages quitting at pregnancy.
The authors explored the relationship between the timing of entry into the WIC Program among pregnant women in Rhode Island and changes in maternal cigarette smoking (MCS) during pregnancy. Self-reports from smokers indicated that 9.5% quit smoking; 24.6% decreased MCS; 26.8% experienced no change; 33.5% increased MCS; and 5.6% attempted to quit MCS, but failed during pregnancy.
The objective of this study was to examine racial, ethnic, and regional (rural versus urban) trends in breastfeeding initiation among low-income women in North Carolina, from 2003 to 2007. The research determined that women in rural areas, particularly non-Hispanic blacks, were less likely to initiate breastfeeding. Increased emphasis should be placed on developing breastfeeding interventions for rural communities, particularly targeting the non-Hispanic black population.
This research documented racial/ethnic differences in breastfeeding duration among mothers from seven diverse racial/ethnic groups in rural and urban areas of the US. The findings suggested that breastfeeding initiation rates and breastfeeding durations of 6 months were lower among WIC-eligible mothers, compared with all mothers. WIC-eligible foreign-born Mexican-Origin Hispanic (FBMOH) mothers were most likely to breastfeed for 6 months.
This research examines a nationally representative sample of births using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort to explore associations between rural ;urban residence and maternal race/ethnicity on breastfeeding initiation. Results indicated that associations observed for rural ;urban breastfeeding initiation differed, based on maternal race/ethnicity and poverty status. These patterns likely reflected differences in economic resources, work environments, and social support among rural minority postpartum women.
The researchers analyzed participants; experiences after the implementation of a workplace learning program in the Texas WIC Program. The findings identified several best practices, including the importance of planning at multiple organizational levels, candidate selection, flexible implementation design, managerial buy-in, preceptor knowledge and availability, open communication, and the establishment of clear expectations and timelines.
This study assessed the accuracy of measurements collected by WIC staff by comparing them to gold standard measurements collected by trained research staff. Results showed that WIC body mass index percentiles accurately classified children as overweight/obese versus underweight/normal with 86% sensitivity and 92% specificity.
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a challenging public health problem, both in the US and elsewhere. Unfortunately, data relating to very young children's risk factors are scarce. This study assessed baseline risk factors for 18-month caries prevalence, in conjunction with a longitudinal study of high-risk children. Results suggested that early colonization by mutans streptocci (MS) and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are significant predictors of ECC in high-risk populations.
The objectives of the study were to describe the US public health nutrition workforce and its future social, biological, and fiscal challenges. It focused on the nutrition personnel working in governmental health agencies. Results showed that the US Department of Agriculture funds 81.7% of full-time-equivalent positions, primarily through the WIC Program. Of those personnel working in WIC, 45% have at least 10 years of experience, compared with more than 65% of the non-WIC workforce. The future workforce will need to focus on increasing its diversity and cultural competence and likely will need to address retirement within leadership positions.
