This study evaluated risk factors associated with anemia and iron deficiency in a sample of children participating in or applying for WIC. The results revealed that current child WIC participation and maternal WIC participation during pregnancy were negatively associated with anemia and iron deficiency.
Using 2004-06 Nielsen Homescan data, the authors examines the prices of fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, and canned) in 26 metropolitan market areas to determine how price variations affected the voucher ;s purchasing power. The authors found that the 20 most commonly purchased fruits and vegetables cost 30% to 70% more in the highest-priced market areas than in the lowest. From these results, the authors inferred that WIC participants who lived in more expensive geographic areas might be able to purchase fewer fruits and vegetables than those who lived in areas where these items were cheaper.
To determine what effect WIC-only vendors ; growth would have on program expenditures, in the absence of recent cost-containment legislation, Congress asked Government Accountability Office the following questions: (1) What is known about WIC-only vendors ; growth and their share of the WIC market in recent years? (2) To what extent do WIC-only and regular WIC vendors differ? (3) What would WIC-only vendors ; contribution to WIC Program expenditures have been if their market share had increased? Government Accountability Office analyzed national WIC vendor data; interviewed WIC state officials about vendors ; business practices; and analyzed redemption data from California, Texas, and Florida.
This study investigated whether women who received supplemental financial support specifically for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables would exhibit high uptake of the supplement. The researchers also recorded what those individuals would choose to purchase. The authors concluded that women used the supplement provided almost fully and that they purchased a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. No particular barriers arose to redemption of the vouchers by either the participants or retail vendors.
This study examines the relationship among WIC participation, family stressors, and health risks. researchers found that participating in the WIC Program attenuated, but did not eliminate, child health risks associated with family stressors.
The objective of the study was to provide culturally appropriate nutrition education to improve the diets of Vietnamese women. Bicultural, bilingual Vietnamese-American nutrition education assistants taught five; to seven lessons in the Vietnamese language, using nutrition education materials written in Vietnamese. Over time, the dietary nutrient density of calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and potassium significantly improved in the intervention group, compared with the control group.
The researchers; goal was to determine whether the availability of community health and social services was associated with the risk of poor fetal growth for infants born small for gestational age (SGA). There was no association between SGA births and the accessibility of community services for either high- or low-risk women.
The researchers assessed the prevalence of alcohol consumption in a sample of low-income pregnant Latinas and examines risk factors for alcohol use in the periconceptional period. According to their findings, level of knowledge about fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and awareness of warning messages was not protective for early pregnancy alcohol consumption, suggesting that specific knowledge was insufficient to prevent exposure or that other factors reinforced maintenance of alcohol consumption in early pregnancy. Selective interventions in low-income Latinas are warranted and should focus on women of reproductive age who are binge drinkers or frequent drinkers and who are at risk of becoming pregnant.
The present study had two aims: (1) to examine the prevalence rates of prenatal alcohol consumption in a group of women participating in WIC in Southern California, with special emphasis on Hispanic women, and (2) to identify variables associated with postconception drinking in low-income minority women. Results suggested that it was important to screen low-income minority pregnant women in a community setting, to initiate interventions to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome and related conditions.
The authors investigated the impact of in-hospital breastfeeding, receipt of a formula discharge pack, and maternal return to work on the long-term breastfeeding outcomes of 4,725 WIC participants in Los Angeles County, California. It was found that mothers who exclusively breastfed in the hospital were 8 times as likely to reach the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of breastfeeding for 12 months or longer, than mothers who did not breastfeed in the hospital.
