This retrospective study was undertaken to determine the effect of nutritional counseling and assessment of underweight pregnant women enrolled in NIP program of the Virginia State Health Department on pregnancy outcomes, including biological, social and nutritional risk variables. A total sample of 2228 prenatal women enrolled in the program from 1988-1991 were subjects for this study. A NIP program tracking form was used to obtain all the information pertinent to this research.

About half of the underweight women as measured by percent expected weight remained underweight at their last visit and only 44% of the underweight pregnant women had normal expected weight at their last visit. Women of the other ethnic group had the highest change in protein intake during their pregnancy indicating that these women showed remarkable improvement in their dietary intake.

The incidence of low birth weight in this subject population was greater when compared with the state vital statistics. Black women appeared to be more vulnerable than white women or women of other ethnic group. No significant difference was seen in the incidence of preterm and low birth weight infants born to underweight women who remained underweight at their last visit and those who had improvement in their percent expected weight. Longer NIP participation was not positively correlated with pregnancy outcomes. But positive correlations with number of nutritional visits and when the prenatal care began, it is possible that nutrition intervention by the NIP nutritionists may have reduced the incidence of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes.