Prenatal WIC Is Associated with Increased Birth Weight of Infants Born in the United States with Immigrant Mothers

• Published in: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2022-08, Vol.122 (8), p.1514-1524.e4
• Main Authors: Ettinger de Cuba, Stephanie, Mbamalu, Mediatrix, Bovell-Ammon, Allison, Black, Maureen M., Cutts, Diana B., Lê-Scherban, Félice, Coleman, Sharon M., Ochoa, Eduardo R., Heeren, Timothy C., Poblacion, Ana, Sandel, Megan, Bruce, Charlotte, Rateau, Lindsey J., Frank, Deborah A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Birth outcomes; Immigrants; Maternal-child health; Nutrition assistance; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• ISSN: 2212-2672; 2212-2680
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2022.02.005

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) improves health outcomes for participating mothers and children. Recent immigration policy changes increased chilling effects on WIC access and utilization. Associations between WIC participation and neonatal outcomes among infants born to immigrant parents—23% of all births in the United States—are understudied. Our aim was to examine relationships between prenatal participation in WIC and birth weight among infants of income-eligible immigrant mothers. The study design was repeat cross-sectional in-person surveys. Participants were 9,083 immigrant mothers of publicly insured or uninsured US-born children younger than 48 months accessing emergency departments or primary care in Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Little Rock, AR; Minneapolis, MN; and Philadelphia, PA interviewed from 2007 through 2017. Outcomes were mean birth weight (in grams) and low birth weight (