Does WIC participation improve breast-feeding practices?
The effects of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on breast-feeding behavior have been sometimes found inadequate. The determinants of breast-feeding initiation and duration among WIC participants and nonparticipants were modeled by using retrospective cross-sectional data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. This study corrects for self-selection bias as far as the data allow, in addition to controlling for parents' ages, education, race, and family income. Findings suggest that prenatal WIC participation, combined with breast-feeding advice, significantly increases the initiation of breast-feeding but does not affect duration. The exact nature of effective breast-feeding advice given prenatally at WIC clinics is unclear and warrants further research.
Schwartz
J B
JB
Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27516-3997, USA.
Popkin
B M
BM
Tognetti
J
J
Zohoori
N
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors