Factors affecting early enrollment in the WIC program

This paper identifies some of the main determinants of early enrollment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). With data from Massachusetts, a binary choice model was used to determine why some women join the program in the first, versus the second or third, trimesters of pregnancy. Several studies have demonstrated that nutritional supplementation of the mother during pregnancy tends to increase fetal growth rates and reduce perinatal and postnatal mortality. Moreover, success in reducing adverse birth outcomes has been shown to be superior if nutritional supplementation begins early in pregnancy. We conclude that the likelihood of early enrollment can be enhanced by changes in local clinic operations.

Key words:

• WIC
• early enrollment
• selectivity bias
• binary choice model
• barriers to participation