Idaho resident Lynlee Lord said she took advantage of nutritional assistance programs that helped ease some of the stress she dealt with during pregnancy after her partner’s death. Research shows that food insecurity can lead to an increased risk of preeclampsia, premature birth, and NICU admission. (Courtesy of Lynlee Lord)
Millions of people across the country could be cut off from access to government food assistance due to Saturday’s shutdown, including those who are pregnant or have babies and teenage children.
That opportunity brings back many complex memories for Lynlee Lord, a mother of three in rural Idaho. In 2014, when Lord was 24, her partner died by suicide. She was 11 weeks pregnant with his daughter and already had a 2-year-old son.
“I went from building my life with my best friend to having nothing and having to move into income-controlled housing,” Lord said.
She also attended cosmetology school full-time in Boise, Idaho, almost an hour from her home, and spent more than 12 hours away from home every day. She worked on her father’s ranch and cleaned houses to earn gas. She tried to keep her stress levels down, but the only thing she didn’t worry about was food because she benefited from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“It took a lot of pressure off me,” she said.
Many studies have shown that adequate nutrition is crucial for a developing fetus January study A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that food insecurity in pregnancy is linked to medical complications. The researchers defined food insecurity as the worry that food will run out before there is money for more. Risks include preeclampsia, premature birth, and NICU admission.
Those who did not have access to food assistance were at the highest risk of complications, according to the January study. The increased rate was mitigated by food aid.
It’s unclear how many pregnant people on average employ SNAP benefits, but the program helped feed 42 million Americans in 22 million households in fiscal year 2025. according to USDA. A separate supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children – known as WIC – is often used by participants at the same time. The federal government has temporarily supported WIC through October and promised more money, but whether the funding will hold up November remains uncertain while the shutdown continues.
The Trump administration has so far declined to employ emergency funds to keep SNAP solvent while the government shutdown continues. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he won’t consider it a standalone funding bill led by Democrats to keep the program running during the shutdown.
Although officials in some states are taking steps to temporarily augment food aid, others – including Indiana And Tennessee – have refused to intervene.
Lord no longer needs food assistance, but about 130,000 Idaho residents still need it and will lose their benefits starting Saturday, November 1st. The Women, Infants and Children program, which helps families afford infant formula and other nutritional supplements, also could soon run out of funding in certain states, including Idaho Idaho Capital Sun reported.
Instability and complex decisions
Gestational diabetes – one of the more earnest complications that can result from food insecurity up to 10% of all pregnancies on average. The condition occurs when the placenta produces hormones that reduce insulin sensitivity, creating unstable blood sugar levels that require a more tightly controlled diet and possibly the employ of insulin or other medications to keep glucose levels within the normal range. Most cases are diagnosed in the third trimester, when the amount of insulin needed to maintain normal blood sugar levels peaks.
Blood sugar can also be affected by stress, indigent sleep, irregular meals and other physiological factors. If glucose is left untreated or remains unstable in the last trimester of pregnancy, it can cause the fetus to grow too quickly, increasing the risk of stillbirth and other complications such as high blood pressure and low blood sugar in the baby after delivery.
Dr. Chloe Zera, chair of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s health policy and advocacy committee, specializes in gestational diabetes and said she saw a patient on Tuesday who was worried about losing her SNAP benefits.
“Adding this on top of an already stressful diagnosis is incredibly challenging for people,” Zera said. “There is so much guilt and shame associated with gestational diabetes and diabetes in pregnancy in general.”
Even people with gestational diabetes who already have children and experience food insecurity tend to feed their children before themselves, Zera added.
“They’re going to make really difficult decisions that lead to them having even less control over their diet,” she said.
Dr. Andrea Shields, a specialist in gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Connecticut, said uncontrolled gestational diabetes can lead to low blood sugar levels in babies after delivery, which has been linked to neurodevelopmental problems later in life. If SNAP benefits are ended, more people would have to get inventive and find ways to facilitate pregnant patients without assistance from the federal government, she said.
“This is a perfect example of why we pay taxes and why we want to help society in general because we don’t need to create generational problems, which this will do because it impacts the unborn fetus,” Shields said.
Lord said if she were in the same situation today as she was 10 years ago, she might have had to consider an option that never would have occurred to her then – an abortion. Even though it was her partner’s only child and abortions are now banned in Idaho, Lord says she may have had to find a way to terminate the pregnancy out of necessity, especially given today’s costs of rent, child care, food and other expenses.
“I probably would have chosen my living child,” she said. “It was really scary for me back then, and I can’t even imagine that would happen in today’s world.”
UPDATE: This story was updated on Friday, October 31, to include additional information about WIC.
This story was originally produced by News from the Stateswhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes West Virginia Watch, and is a 501c(3) public charity supported by grants and a coalition of donors.
