The changing association between prenatal participation in wic and birth outcomes in new york city
By: Ted Joyce, Diane Gibson, Silvie Colman.
Contributors: Gibson, Diane; Colman, Silvie; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 10796; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 10796.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (U.S.); Prenatal care -- New York (State) -- New York.; Delivery (Obstetrics) -- Nutritional aspects.
Description: "We analyze the relationship between prenatal WIC participation and birth outcomes in New York City from 1988-2001.  The analysis is unique for several reasons.  First, we restrict the analysis to women on Medicaid and or WIC who have no previous live births and who initiate prenatal care within the first four months of pregnancy.  Our goal is to lessen heterogeneity between WIC and non-WIC participants by limiting the sample to women who initiate prenatal care early and who have no experience with WIC from a previous pregnancy.  Second, we focus on measures of fetal growth distinct from preterm birth, since there is little clinical support for a link between nutritional supplementation and premature delivery.  Third, we analyze a large sub-sample of twin deliveries.  Multifetal pregnancies increase the risk of anemia and fetal growth retardation and thus, may benefit more than singletons from nutritional supplementation.  We find no relationship between prenatal WIC participation and measures of fetal growth except among a sub-sample of US-born Blacks between 1990-1992.  A similarly sporadic pattern of association exists among US-born Black twins.  Our finding that the modest association between WIC and fetal growth is limited to a specific racial and ethnic group during specific years and even specific ages suggests that the protective effect of prenatal WIC on adverse birth outcomes in New York City has been minimal"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
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