Factors associated with rates of participation in WIC by eligible pregnant women.

The relationship between sociodemographic, biological, and prenatal care characteristics, and participation rates of pregnant women in the Special Supplemental Food Program For Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was studied by interviewing 200 postpartum patients in a Buffalo, NY, hospital between October 1988 and January 1989. Among the 136 women eligible for the program, 94 (69 percent) participated during their index pregnancies. WIC participation was found to be highly associated with source of prenatal care and having made more frequent prenatal visits. WIC was related to having fewer children and earlier initiation of prenatal care. Multivariate analysis showed that program participation remained highly associated with the source of prenatal care and the number of prenatal visits, when combined with other factors considered, such as age, education, marital status, number of living children, and timing of initial prenatal visit. The results suggest the need for a WIC enrollment effort directed to providers of prenatal care, who would be urged to encourage women to seek early and adequate prenatal care through the program.