| Detailed Objective: This project will examine how the length of time that an individual participates in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during infancy, childhood, or pregnancy may affect changes in household food security for different race/ethnic groups. The project will also examine the consequences of household food insecurity prenatally and in early infancy on the health (e.g., birth outcomes, weight gain, anemia, obesity) of low-income infants and children. The study will use a unique longitudinal Massachusetts WIC dataset that links 8 years of maternal and child WIC data, submitted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy and Pediatric Surveillance Systems, for participants who received WIC services between August 2001 and November 2009. The data include information on sociodemographics, maternal health-related factors, tobacco use, birth outcomes, growth, anemia, and breastfeeding. |