Maternal Outcomes of WIC Recipients Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. WIC’s Role in Nutritional and Healthcare Support
1.2. Inequities in WIC’s Impact
1.3. Study Aims
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Data
2.2. Reference Information and Artificial Intelligence Use
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics
3.2. Health Status
3.3. Prenatal Care Access
3.4. Prenatal Care Access and Nutrition-Related Health Outcomes Before and During the Pandemic
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
WIC | Women, Infants, and Children Programs or Services |
COVID-19 | Coronavirus Disease of 2019 |
MMC | Medicaid Managed Care |
GDM | Gestational Diabetes Mellitus |
USDA | United States Department of Agriculture |
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Characteristics | Before COVID-19 | During COVID-19 | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Number (%) | Number (%) | Number (%) | |
WIC | |||
Enrollment | 88,962 (56.8) | 67,746 (43.2) | 156,708 (100) |
Race | |||
Hispanic/Latinx | 33,523 (38.8) | 25,662 (39.0) | 59,185 (38.9) |
African-American/Black | 28,443 (32.9) | 21,333 (32.4) | 49,776 (32.7) |
White | 24,489 (28.3) | 18,802 (28.6) | 43,291 (28.4) |
Age | |||
≤18 | 3590 (4.0) | 2652 (3.9) | 6242 (4.0) |
19–29 | 52,929 (59.5) | 39,519 (58.3) | 92,448 (59.0) |
30–39 | 29,846 (33.5) | 23,449 (34.6) | 53,295 (34.0) |
≥40 | 2597 (2.9) | 2126 (3.2) | 4723 (3.0) |
Education | |||
<High School | 15,768 (17.9) | 11,518 (17.1) | 27,286 (17.6) |
High School Grad/GED | 39,623 (45.1) | 30,220 (44.9) | 69,843 (44.9) |
College/Associate’s Degree | 24,708 (27.8) | 19,000 (28.2) | 43,943 (28.2) |
College Graduate | 6272 (7.1) | 5241 (7.8) | 11,513 (7.4) |
Master’s Degree or Above | 1675 (1.9) | 1370 (2.0) | 3045 (2.0) |
Marital Status | |||
Single | 60,466 (68.0) | 46,314 (68.4) | 106,780 (68.1) |
Married | 28,489 (32.0) | 21,429 (31.6) | 49,918 (31.9) |
Insurance | |||
Medicaid | 70,731 (79.5) | 54,249 (80.1) | 124,980 (79.8) |
Private Insurance | 11,988 (13.5) | 9566 (15.6) | 21,554 (13.8) |
Self-Pay | 3666 (4.1) | 2340 (3.5) | 6006 (3.8) |
Other/Unknown | 2577 (2.9) | 1591 (2.3) | 4168 (2.7) |
BMI of Mother | |||
Underweight | 3090 (3.7) | 2146 (3.3) | 5236 (3.5) |
Normal | 30,449 (36.0) | 22,960 (35.3) | 53,409 (35.7) |
Overweight | 23,464 (27.8) | 17,960 (27.6) | 41,424 (27.7) |
Obese | 21,943 (26.0) | 17,508 (26.9) | 39,451 (26.4) |
Severe Obesity | 5557 (6.6) | 4517 (6.9) | 10,074 (6.7) |
Pregnancy Weight Gain | |||
Lost Weight | 2150 (2.5) | 1651 (2.5) | 3801 (2.5) |
Low Gain | 26,248 (30.7) | 19,648 (29.7) | 45,896 (30.2) |
Normal Gain | 50,132 (58.5) | 38,989 (58.9) | 89,121 (58.7) |
Excess Gain | 7098 (8.3) | 5901 (8.9) | 12,999 (8.6) |
Gestation | |||
Preterm | 9669 (10.9) | 7176 (10.6) | 16,845 (10.8) |
Full Term | 79,275 (89.1) | 60,556 (89.4) | 139,831 (89.2) |
Birth Weight of Infant | |||
Very Low | 1294 (1.5) | 887 (1.3) | 2181 (1.4) |
Low | 7104 (8.0) | 5352 (7.9) | 12,456 (7.9) |
Normal | 75,252 (84.6) | 57,402 (84.7) | 132,654 (84.7) |
High | 5303 (6.0) | 4100 (6.1) | 9403 (6.0) |
Inadequate Prenatal Care | |||
Yes | 5249 (5.9) | 4147 (6.1) | 9396 (6.0) |
No | 83,713 (94.1) | 63,599 (93.9) | 147,312 (94.0) |
Gestational Diabetes (GDM) | |||
Yes | 5914 (6.7) | 5009 (7.4) | 10,923 (7.0) |
No | 82,928 (93.3) | 62,659 (92.6) | 145,587 (93.2) |
Gestational Hypertension | |||
Yes | 6966 (7.8) | 5869 (8.7) | 12,835 (8.2) |
No | 81,876 (92.1) | 61,799 (91.3) | 143,675 (91.8) |
Characteristics | OR | 95% CI | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Race | |||
Black | 0.97 | 0.95–0.99 | 0.03 |
Hispanic | 1.01 | 0.98–1.03 | 0.45 |
White | Reference | - | - |
Age | |||
≤18 | 0.90 | 0.83–0.97 | 0.01 |
19–29 | Reference | ||
30–39 | 0.90 | 0.85–0.95 | <0.001 |
≥40 | 0.94 | 0.89–0.99 | 0.04 |
Education | |||
<High School | 0.88 | 0.82–0.95 | <0.001 |
High School Grad/GED | 0.92 | 0.86–0.99 | 0.03 |
College/Associate’s Degree | 0.91 | 0.85–0.98 | 0.01 |
College Graduate | 1.02 | 0.94–1.10 | 0.72 |
Master’s Degree or Above | Reference | - | - |
Marital Status | |||
Single | 1.03 | 1.01–1.05 | 0.01 |
Married | Reference | - | - |
Insurance | |||
Medicaid | 0.87 | 0.85–0.90 | <0.001 |
Private Insurance | Reference | ||
Self-Pay | 0.75 | 0.71–0.79 | <0.001 |
Other/Unknown | 0.74 | 0.69–0.79 | <0.001 |
Inadequate Prenatal Care | |||
Yes | 1.24 | 1.20–1.29 | <0.001 |
No | Reference | - | - |
Gestational Diabetes | |||
Yes | 1.09 | 1.04–1.13 | <0.001 |
No | Reference | - | - |
Gestational Hypertension | |||
Yes | 1.10 | 1.06–1.14 | <0.001 |
No | Reference | - | - |
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Mathis, A.; Buxbaum, S.G.; Close, F.; Suther, S.G.; Mazzio, E.; Saunders-Jones, R.; Justin, F.; Soliman, K.F.A.; Darling-Reed, S. Maternal Outcomes of WIC Recipients Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 1354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22091354
Mathis A, Buxbaum SG, Close F, Suther SG, Mazzio E, Saunders-Jones R, Justin F, Soliman KFA, Darling-Reed S. Maternal Outcomes of WIC Recipients Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(9):1354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22091354
Chicago/Turabian StyleMathis, Arlesia, Sarah G. Buxbaum, Fran Close, Sandra G. Suther, Elizabeth Mazzio, Remelda Saunders-Jones, Fayetta Justin, Karam F. A. Soliman, and Selina Darling-Reed. 2025. "Maternal Outcomes of WIC Recipients Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 9: 1354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22091354
APA StyleMathis, A., Buxbaum, S. G., Close, F., Suther, S. G., Mazzio, E., Saunders-Jones, R., Justin, F., Soliman, K. F. A., & Darling-Reed, S. (2025). Maternal Outcomes of WIC Recipients Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(9), 1354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22091354