Women and WIC: Assessing WIC Use and Effect on Postpartum Health in Rural Northeastern North Carolina

Postpartum health outcomes of low-income women in the rural South are among the lowest in the country and use of governmental services, especially supplemental nutrition programs, is disproportionately lower in rural communities (Wauchope and Shattuck, 2010). This study examined use of The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in four counties in rural Northeastern North Carolina and analyzed the effect of WIC participation on overall postpartum health. In-person surveys were conducted with WIC enrollees in Halifax, Vance, Warren, and Northampton counties. Those participants that attended at least one WIC appointment (n = 141) were found to be more likely to exhibit behaviors characteristic of postpartum health than those participants that did not attend any WIC appointments (n = 30). Multivariate analysis revealed that women who attended at least one WIC appointment were significantly more likely to have improved postpartum health as measured by eight health behaviors indicative of postpartum health status (OR = 14.29, 95% CI = 6.07 – 33.65).