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ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FOOD PURCHASE AND BREASTFEEDING STATUS OF LOW‐INCOME FAMILIES IN WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC)

Low‐income mothers and especially those who participate in WIC have lower breastfeeding rates compared to other groups. This may be problematic for these mothers, as breastfeeding can help reducing overall health costs and improve health outcomes for mothers and their infants. This study focuses on the role of breastfeeding status on the food purchase behaviors of WIC participants. Since breastfeeding mothers tend to be more health‐conscious, this paper will test whether breastfeeding WIC participants make healthier food choices than non‐breastfeeding WIC participants. The paper analyze the food purchase patterns of low‐income mothers enrolled in the WIC program (n = 110). The measures of food purchase include food purchase frequency, food expenditures by food group and type of food outlets. The analyses using multivariate regression models are based on food receipts obtained during a one‐month period, as well as survey from mothers having a child or children enrolled in a WIC program in Eastern Illinois in 2009. We will describe the patterns of food outlet use and food purchases to understand food shopping or eating out behaviors of WIC families, stratified by their breastfeeding practice status. Since WIC participants view the cost and difficulty of food selection as barriers to their purchase, this study can evaluate their food purchase behavior based on their demographic characteristics.