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Title: The Impact of WIC on the Infant-Feeding Decisions of Poor Women: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Armstrong, Elizabeth M.
The Impact of WIC on the Infant-Feeding Decisions of Poor Women: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Presented: Miami, FL, Population Association of America Meetings, May 1994.
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Breastfeeding; Disadvantaged, Economically; Infants; Morbidity; Mortality; Poverty; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Racial Differences; State Welfare; Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Also: Presented: Washington, DC, American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 1994

The substantial health and nutritional benefits of breastfeeding may be especially important for disadvantaged women and their children, who suffer higher morbidity and mortality than non-poor populations. Yet poor women in the U.S. are less likely to breastfeed than non-poor women. This paper examines the impact of the federally-funded WIC program on the infant-feeding decisions of poor women, using logistic regression analysis and proportional hazards models on data from the 1990/91 round of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Thirty percent of the WIC recipients in the sample report breastfeeding, compared with 52 percent of women who did not receive WIC. Women who received WIC breastfed on average for 11 weeks, compared with almost 18 weeks among women who did not receive WIC. Receiving WIC decreases the odds of breastfeeding by 32 percent. These findings suggest that participation in WIC is associated with lower rates and shorter durations of breastfeeding among poor women.

Bibliography Citation
Armstrong, Elizabeth M. "The Impact of WIC on the Infant-Feeding Decisions of Poor Women: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." Presented: Miami, FL, Population Association of America Meetings, May 1994.