WIC Research, Policy and Practice Hub WIC Research, Policy and Practice Hub

Resource Types: Research

Reducing Low Birth Weight Through Home Visitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study assessed the effectiveness of a prenatal home visitation program in reducing adverse birth outcomes among socially disadvantaged pregnant women and adolescents. The risk of delivering a  low-birth weight baby was significantly lower for the intervention group. The risk was further reduced for mothers who were exposed to the intervention at a gestational age of 24 weeks or fewer.

Does Prenatal WIC Participation Improve Birth Outcomes? New Evidence from Florida

Using data sets from Florida about all births between 1997 and 2001, the authors analyzed the effects of prenatal nutrition and education services provided by WIC on birth outcomes. Based on their results, WIC participation had no effect on mean birth weight and gestational age, but substantially reduced the likelihood of adverse birth outcomes, including birth weights below 2,500 grams.

Racial Disparity in the Frequency of Recurrence of Preterm Birth

This study examines the hypothesis that ; independent of other factors, being black increased the risk of extreme preterm birth and its frequency of recurrence at a similar gestational age. The study found that recurrent black preterm births occurred at increased frequency and at an earlier gestation age (median age: 31 weeks versus 33 weeks), when compared with white births.

Psychosocial Predictors of Being an Underweight Infant Differ by Racial Group: A Prospective Study of Louisiana WIC Program Participants

The researchers identified psychosocial predictors of having low-birth weight infants among mothers enrolled in the Louisiana WIC Program. Among blacks, mothers with an eighth grade education or less had the highest risk of having underweight infants. Among whites, those who initiated prenatal care in the third trimester were most likely to have underweight infants.

Chronic Stress and Low Birth Weight Neonates in a Low-Income Population of Women

The authors examines whether there was an association between chronic psychosocial stress and low-birth weight neonates among low-income women. researchers found that many psychosocial stressors were associated with a low-birth weight delivery, including food insecurity, a child with a chronic illness, a crowded home environment, and unemployment.

The Relationship Between the Neighbourhood Environment and Adverse Birth Outcomes

The aim of this study was to explore whether conditions of mothers; neighbourhood of residence contributed to adverse birth outcomes, independent of individual-level determinants. Results suggested that measures of neighbourhood economic conditions were associated with both fetal growth and the length of gestation, independent of individual-level factors.

Maternal Prepregnant Body Mass Index and Weight Gain Related to Low Birth Weight in South Carolina

This study described the proportion of low-birth weight births that might be prevented by programs targeting maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy and/or weight gain during pregnancy. The researchers found that 19% of the very low-birth weight births in South Carolina related to either underweight or overweight BMI at conception. In addition, 8% of the very low-birth weight births were attributed to inadequate weight gain during pregnancy. The authors concluded that appropriate maternal BMI at conception, in conjunction with adequate weight gain during pregnancy, might substantially reduce the number of low-birth weight deliveries.