Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes

N. Meltem Daysal, Mircea Trandafir and Reyn Van Ewijk

No 6879, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Many developed countries have recently experienced sharp increases in home birth rates. This paper investigates the impact of home births on the health of low-risk newborns using data from the Netherlands, the only developed country where home births are widespread. To account for endogeneity in location of birth, we exploit the exogenous variation in distance from a mother's residence to the closest hospital. We find that giving birth in a hospital leads to substantial reductions in newborn mortality. We provide suggestive evidence that proximity to medical technologies may be an important channel contributing to these health gains.

Keywords: home birth; birth; medical technology; mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 I12 I18 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2012-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Published - published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2015, 7(3), 28-50

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Related works:
Journal Article: Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes (2015)
Working Paper: Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes (2014)
Working Paper: Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes (2012)
Working Paper: Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes (2012)
Working Paper: Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes (2012)
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