Birth order and infant health: evidence from maternal immunisation in New Zealand

Thomas Schober ()
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Thomas Schober: New Zealand Policy Research Institute

No 2601, Working Papers from Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics

Abstract: Immunisation during pregnancy is a vital strategy to protect infants from infectious diseases in their first months of life. Drawing on administrative data from New Zealand, I analyse the relationship between birth order, maternal vaccination against pertussis and influenza, and subsequent infant hospitalisations caused by these diseases. The findings show that later-born children experience higher hospitalisation rates, likely because of increased exposure to infectious diseases through older siblings. At the same time, maternal vaccination rates decline with each pregnancy, leaving those who would benefit most from maternal immunisation the least likely to receive it.

Keywords: Birth order; maternal immunisation; child health; pertussis; influenza (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 I10 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01-12
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