This study evaluated the diet quality of pregnant women in the North Dakota WIC Program, comparing Native Americans with whites. The differences in diet quality, while significant, were minimal. In general, their diets were not meeting recommendations. The researchers recommended interventions that targeted decreasing fat and increasing iron and folate, as well as increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The authors examines dietary intake of pregnant women using the Diet Quality Index for Pregnancy (DQI-P), a new index developed to reflect current nutritional recommendations for pregnancy and national dietary guidelines. The highest overall DQI-P scores were identified in women who were older than 30, above 350% of the poverty level, nulliparous, and high school graduates. Additionally, higher-income, older, and better-educated women consumed higher amounts of vegetables. But, black, low-income, and nulliparous women consumed greater intakes of folate and iron.
This 1999 pilot study of 127 ethnically diverse mothers in the WIC Program addressed mental health symptomatology using the PrimeMD tool and mental healthcare utilization. Prevalence of anxiety symptoms differed by presence of support and self-perceived health status.
This study assessed maternal mental health and feeding styles by a telephone survey. Parenting, including non responsive feeding styles, has been related to young children being either under- or overweight. Mothers who reported stress, depression, or anxiety symptoms were at risk of non responsive feeding styles. These findings provided support for broadening the focus of existing child nutrition programs to include strategies that recognize how issues of maternal mental health could affect feeding styles.
The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between maternal depressive symptoms and the use of infant health services, parenting practices, and injury-prevention measures. A total of 48% of women had depressive symptoms at one or two time points (ever symptoms), and 12% had depressive symptoms at all points (persistent symptoms). There was no association between maternal depressive symptoms and infant receipt of well-child care or the likelihood of breastfeeding for 1 month or longer.
This study examines the relationship of depressive symptoms to psychosocial and lifestyle variables in postpartum women. The results revealed that neither body weight nor steps walked were related to depressive symptoms in the bivariate or regression analysis. However, stress and social support were related to symptoms.
The authors examines the impact of the WIC Program on birth outcomes. They found that rather than affecting average outcomes, WIC was more effective in reducing the probability of high-risk births, for example, very premature and low-birth weight babies. The potential benefits of the WIC Program can be realized by enhancing its focus on more disadvantaged mothers.
The goal of this study was to determine whether participation in the WIC Program was associated with improved maternal and infant health outcomes among homeless women in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Compared with those not in the program, women enrolled in WIC were significantly more likely to have a higher body mass index, initiate breastfeeding after delivery, have prenatal care visits, have a longer gestational age, and have a higher infant birth weight.
This study explored the relationship between participation in the WIC Program and birth outcomes. The authors analyzed whether WIC participation increased the average birth weight and decreased the number of low-birth weight births. Based on the results, WIC initiation raised the average birth weight by 2 grams and raised it by 7 grams among infants born to mothers with low education levels.
These authors studied the effect of WIC on birth outcomes. Based on their findings, WIC showed no statistically significant effects for any of the following six outcomes: birth weight, prematurity, maternal report of the infant's health, small for gestational age, and placement in the neonatal intensive care unit.
