Women, Infants, and Children enrollment and pregnancy-related behaviors and outcomes among Medicaid recipients in the United States.

Abstract

Nearly 40% of pregnant women in 2016 were enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Prior studies have investigated nutritional behaviors among WIC participants and access to WIC breastfeeding counseling services. However, there are no (few?) nationally representative, large-scale analyses of WIC users and pregnancy behaviors. Thus, the present study aims to examine associations between WIC use and select pregnancy outcomes among Medicaid enrollees. We examined pregnancy-related behaviors and outcomes using 2018 U.S. Birth Certificates for Medicaid patients aged 18-45 years (N=1159 263). Outcomes included prenatal care (PNC) adequacy, breastfeeding initiation, cigarette use, and gestational weight gain. Standard binary and multinomial logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). After adjustment, WIC users had statistically significant increased odds of adequate PNC (adjusted OR [AOR]=1.31 [95% CI 1.30, 1.32]), cigarette use (quit smoking during pregnancy 1.09 [1.07, 1.11]; smoked throughout pregnancy 1.16 [1.14, 1.18], and exceeding recommendations of weight gain 1.07 [1.06, 1.08]) compared with non-WIC users. WIC enrollees also experienced decreased odds of breastfeeding initiation (0.85 [0.85, 0.86]) compared with non-WIC users. The study underscores the value of the WIC program in improving access to PNC. Yet, low-income women remain at risk for smoking during pregnancy and exceeding the recommended amount of weight gain. Breastfeeding initiation is lower than anticipated among WIC participants. Additional studies are needed to investigate WIC program efficacy.