Increased Duration of Paid Maternity Leave Lowers Infant Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Arijit Nandi, Mohammad Hajizadeh, Sam Harper, Alissa Koski, Erin Strumpf and Jody Heymann

PLOS Medicine, 2016, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Background: Maternity leave reduces neonatal and infant mortality rates in high-income countries. However, the impact of maternity leave on infant health has not been rigorously evaluated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this study, we utilized a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate whether paid maternity leave policies affect infant mortality in LMICs. Methods and Findings: We used birth history data collected via the Demographic and Health Surveys to assemble a panel of approximately 300,000 live births in 20 countries from 2000 to 2008; these observational data were merged with longitudinal information on the duration of paid maternity leave provided by each country. We estimated the effect of an increase in maternity leave in the prior year on the probability of infant (

Date: 2016
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Working Paper: Increased Duration of Paid Maternity Leave Lowers Infant Mortality in Low- and MiddleIncome Countries: A Quasi-Experimental Study (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pmed00:1001985

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001985

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