Disparities in Infant Nutrition: WIC Participation and Rates of Breastfeeding in Florida

Sarah G. Buxbaum (), Olumide Arigbede, Arlesia Mathis, Fran Close, Sandra G. Suther, Elizabeth Mazzio, Remelda Saunders-Jones, Karam F. A. Soliman and Selina F. Darling-Reed
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Sarah G. Buxbaum: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Olumide Arigbede: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Arlesia Mathis: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Fran Close: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Sandra G. Suther: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Elizabeth Mazzio: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Remelda Saunders-Jones: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Karam F. A. Soliman: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Selina F. Darling-Reed: College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Being cognizant of the pronounced health advantages of breastfeeding for both the nursing mother and her infant, the breastfeeding dyad, we examined breastfeeding rates among Floridian women who gave birth from 2012 to 2014 ( N = 639,052). We investigated the associations between breastfeeding initiation and WIC-based breastfeeding support (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), education level, and race and ethnicity. We compared the percentage of breastfeeding mothers between those in the WIC program and those who were not, and we compared breastfeeding rates across racial and ethnic groups. Consistent with previous reports, black newborns in this study were breastfed at lower rates than other racial groups, and WIC program participants were less likely to breastfeed than non-WIC program participants. However, by breaking down the data by education level and race, and ethnicity, we see a significantly increased rate of breastfeeding due to WIC participation for both Hispanic and black women with less than a high school education. Further, we assessed differences by insurance type, race, and WIC participation. In multivariable logistic regression, we showed that the WIC program has a significant positive impact on breastfeeding rates for all but white non-Hispanic mothers, independent of sociodemographic and geographic variables. We also note a trend of increasing breastfeeding rates over the study period ( p -value < 0.0001), which has positive public health implications.

Keywords: breastfeeding; health disparities; WIC; maternal and child health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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