Effects Of Maternity Research Articles

Effects of Spouse Maternity Leave on Family Relation: Mediating Effect of Father’s Child Rearing Share Controlled to the Degree of Father Education

Effects of Spouse Maternity Leave on Family Relation: Mediating Effect of Father’s Child Rearing Share Controlled to the Degree of Father Education

Maternity leave reform and women's labor supply: Evidence from China

China has extended maternity leave to encourage childbirth. This study specifically investigates the effects of China's maternity leave reform (MLR) on women's labor supply, utilizing a difference-in-difference analysis with data from the China Family Panel Studies. Our findings show that MLR leads to a notable decrease in women's working hours, with an average reduction of 2.6 h per week. However, no corresponding impacts are observed in men's labor supply. Mechanism analysis suggests that these effects may stem from women facing more disadvantaged positions in the labor market, having increased intentions for fertility, and experiencing heightened household responsibilities. These findings hold significant implications for the future design and implementation of childbirth promotion and gender equality policies.

Effects of maternity on labor outcomes and employment quality for women in Chile

ABSTRACT Parenthood have a significant impact on engagement in the labor force. Parents may decide to look for jobs with specific characteristics, and in some cases, they may decide to not participate in the labor market. Using survey data from Chile, we use a propensity score matching estimation to compare various labor outcomes of women and men with and without children. We found that maternity has an impact on several dimensions of labor engagement. To study how these multidimensional effects are compounded at the individual level, we use a quality of employment (QoE) index to estimate the drop in job quality post-childbirth. We found a drop in quality only for mothers. Moreover, for less educated women, the drop in QoE is equivalent to no longer being hired under contract. For single mothers, the drop is equivalent to a reduction in wages that would make the family fall below the poverty line.

What If Moms Quiet Quit? The Role of Maternity Leave Policy in Working Mothers’ Quiet Quitting Behaviors

This study aims to examine the effects of various maternity leave support on the quiet quitting behaviors and mental health conditions of working mothers across industries during the post-pandemic period. Through an empirical survey method of 310 valid responses from a panel data, the study results indicated that working mothers who took maternity leave were less likely to adopt quiet quitting behaviors when they returned to work after childbirth and showed better mental health at work compared to their peers who did not take maternity leave because of childbirth and/or childcare. Additionally, paid maternity leave was not found to have a significant effect on quiet quitting behaviors and mental health of working mothers across industries, but the duration of maternity leave was found as a significant factor in impacting working mothers’ quiet quitting behaviors and their mental health conditions. Moreover, peer workers’ quiet quitting behaviors and supervisors’ support for childcare (e.g., flexible work schedule) were found significantly to improve working mothers’ quiet quitting tendencies at work. Lastly, there exist significant differences in age and race in the working mothers’ quiet quitting behaviors at work.

The long-run impacts of paid maternity leave on height and educational attainment

This study investigates the extent to which paid maternity leave affects educational attainment and adult height in 29 developing countries between 1990 and 2019. The identification hinges upon the variation in the educational achievement and health outcomes of individuals residing in the same place but exposed to different lengths of paid maternity leave at birth due to policy reforms. The analysis uncovers the long-lasting favorable effects of paid maternity leave as an additional week of leave duration could result in an increase of around 0.007 years in educational attainment and 0.056 cm in adult height. The study calls for the enforcement and extension of paid maternity leave.

Maternity benefits mandate and women’s choice of work in Vietnam

Despite a sizable literature on the labor market effects of maternity leave regulation on women in developed countries, how these policies affect women’s work in developing countries with a large informal sector remains poorly understood. This study examines how extending the maternity leave requirement affects women’s decision to work in the informal or formal sector in Vietnam. We use a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the 2012 Amendments to the Vietnam Labor Law, which imposes a longer maternity leave requirement than before. We find that the law increases formal employment and decreases unpaid work among women. This is driven by women switching from agricultural household work to employment in the private formal sector, especially in the manufacturing industry and among the middle-skilled occupations such as plant and machine workers, craft and related workers, as well as clerks.

Factor-augmented Bayesian treatment effects models for panel outcomes

A new, flexible model for inference of the effect of a binary treatment on a continuous outcome observed over subsequent time periods is proposed. The model allows to separate the associations due to endogeneity under treatment selection and additional longitudinal association of the outcomes, thus yielding unbiased estimates of dynamic treatment effects if both sources of association are present. The performance of the proposed method is investigated on simulated data and employed to re-analyze data on the longitudinal effects of a long maternity leave on mothers’ earnings after their return to the labour market.

Effects of Maternity on Labour Outcomes and Employment Quality for Women in Chile

Effects of Maternity on Labour Outcomes and Employment Quality for Women in Chile

From Requisite to Right: Assessing and Addressing Paid Maternity Leave in US Psychiatry Residency Programs.

ObjectiveData on the physical and mental health benefits of paid maternity leave for mothers and infants is abundant. Data on the make-up of current maternity leave policies in US psychiatry residency programs is not. This survey of program directors was undertaken to assess the components of their program’s policies and the perceived impact of maternity leave on the training of childbearing residents, co-residents, and programs.MethodsAn anonymous 19-question survey was emailed to US psychiatric residency program directors. Questions assessed demographics for respondents and their programs, composition of maternity leave including paid and unpaid components, and the perception of effects of maternity leave on childbearing residents, co-residents, and programs (with optional free-text elaboration).ResultsThe response rate was 19.5% (49 out of 262 program directors). Many programs require the use of FMLA (81%), vacation days (75%), sick days (75%), and short-term disability (30%) for maternity leave. Around a third (34%) offer separate paid time off varying from 2 to 12 weeks at 80–100% of pay. Most respondents relate a neutral to strongly positive impact of leave on the psychiatric training of childbearing residents (98%) and co-residents (84%), citing benefits like improved empathy, compassion, and patience.ConclusionsMaternity leave is seen to have minimal negative impact on training received within psychiatry residency programs. A minority of residents have access to paid maternity leave policies that would best support their health and career trajectories.

Macroeconomic effects of maternity leave legislation in emerging economies

This study evaluates the relationships between maternity leave duration, female and male labor force participation, and aggregate productivity in emerging countries. We build a comprehensive maternity leave data set for a panel of emerging countries at annual frequency, augmenting publicly available data on maternity leave with narrative evidence that identifies the exact dates when legislative changes to maternity leave policies were enacted and enforced. Maternity leave is associated with positive but limited effects on female labor force participation, but it is associated with significant increases in male labor force participation. There is some evidence that increases in maternity leave duration are associated with decreases in productivity in the short run, primarily driven by the duration channel where long leave leads to temporary declines in productivity, but there are no significant adverse effects at longer horizons.

Maternity leave and female labor force participation: evidence from 159 countries

In this paper, we account for the direct and indirect effects of maternity leave entitlements on female labor force participation. We first explore theoretically the impact of maternity leave duration on female labor supply in the presence of fertility decisions. We assume that maternity leave duration affects female labor supply through two main channels: reducing the time cost of female market work, and reducing women’s earnings. Our theoretical model allows for non-monotonic effects of leave duration on female labor supply. We test the predictions of our model using an unbalanced panel of 159 countries for the years 1994, 2004, and 2011. We confirm the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between maternity leave duration and female participation, and find a maternity leave threshold of around 30 weeks above which female participation falls. Below this threshold, increasing maternity leave increases female labor force participation because the positive effect due to the reduction of work–time cost of employed mothers strongly dominates the negative wage penalty effect. Beyond this threshold, the opposite happens. Our analysis also confirms the relevance of social norms for female labor supply throughout the world.

Paid family leave and children health outcomes in OECD countries

During the past four decades, most OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have adopted or expanded paid family leave, which offers leave to workers following the birth or adoption of a child as well as care for ill family members. While the effects of paid maternity leave on child health have been the subject of a large body of research, little is known about fathers’ leave-taking and the effects of paid paternity leave. This is a limitation, since most of the recent expansion in paid family leave in OECD countries has been to expand leave benefits to fathers. Mothers’ and fathers’ leave-taking may improve child health by decreasing postpartum depression among mothers, improving maternal mental health, increasing the time spent with a child, and increasing the likelihood of child medical checkup. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of paid family leave on the wellbeing of children, extending what we know about the effects of maternity leave and establishing new evidence on paternity leave. The paper examines the effects of paid family leave expansions on country-level neonatal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, under-five mortality rates, and the measles immunization rates in 35 OECD countries, during the time period of 1990 to 2016. Using an event study design, an approximately 1.9–5.2 percent decrease in the infant, neonatal, and under-five mortality rates has been found following the adoption of paid maternity leave. However, the beneficial impact is not as visible for extension of paid leave to fathers. The implications and potential reasons behind the larger protective effects of maternity leave over paternity leave on child health outcomes are discussed.

The Long-Run Effects of Wage Replacement and Job Protection: Evidence from Two Maternity Leave Reforms in Great Britain

This paper examines the effects of maternity leave coverage on women’s employment and career trajectories in Great Britain using data from the British Household Panel Survey. Using a difference-in-differences identification strategy and two changes to the national maternity leave policy, I distinguish between the effects of expanding access to wage replacement benefits and the additional effects of providing job protection benefits. Access to paid maternity leave increases the probability of returning to work after childbirth in the short run, but has no effect on long-run employment. Expanding the amount of job protection available to new mothers results in substantial increases in maternal employment rates and job tenure more than five years later. However, job protected leave expansions lead to fewer women holding management positions and other jobs with the potential for promotion. Although these maternity leave policies have large employment effects on the extensive margin, there is little evidence of effects on average earnings.

The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on the Mental and Physical Health of Mothers and Children: A Review of the Literature and Policy Implications.

For decades, national paid maternity leave policies of 12 weeks or more have been established in every industrialized country except the United States. Despite women representing 47% of the current U.S. labor force, only 16% of all employed American workers have access to paid parental leave through their workplace. As many as 23% of employed mothers return to work within ten days of giving birth, because of their inability to pay living expenses without income. We reviewed recent studies on the possible effects of paid maternity leave on the mental and physical health of mothers and children. We found that paid maternity leave is associated with beneficial effects on (1) the mental health of mothers and children, including a decrease in postpartum maternal depression and intimate partner violence, and improved infant attachment and child development, (2) the physical health of mothers and children, including a decrease in infant mortality and in mother and infant rehospitalizations, and an increase in pediatric visit attendance and timely administration of infant immunizations, and (3) breastfeeding, with an increase in its initiation and duration. Given the substantial mental and physical health benefits associated with paid leave, as well as favorable results from studies on its economic impact, the United States is facing a clear, evidence-based mandate to create a national paid maternity leave policy. We recommend a national paid maternity leave policy of at least 12 weeks.

The effects of maternity waiting homes on the health workforce and maternal health service delivery in rural Zambia: a qualitative analysis

BackgroundMaternity waiting homes (MWHs) are a potential strategy to address low facility delivery rates resulting from access-associated barriers in resource-limited settings. Within a cluster-randomized controlled trial testing a community-generated MWH model in rural Zambia, we qualitatively assessed how MWHs affect the health workforce and maternal health service delivery at their associated rural health centers.MethodsFour rounds of in-depth interviews with district health staff (n = 21) and health center staff (n = 73) were conducted at intervention and control sites over 24 months. We conducted a content analysis using a mixed inductive-deductive approach. Data were interpreted through the lens of the World Health Organzation Health Systems Framework.ResultsNearly all respondents expressed challenges with understaffing and overwork and reported that increasing numbers of facility-based deliveries driven by MWHs contributed substantively to their workload. Women waiting at MWHs allow staff to monitor a woman’s final stage of pregnancy and labor onset, detect complications earlier, and either more confidently manage those complications at the health center or refer to higher level care. District, intervention, and control site respondents passionately discussed this benefit over all time points, describing it as outweighing challenges of additional work associated with MWHs. Intervention site staff repeatedly discussed the benefit of MWHs in providing a space for postpartum women to wait after the first few hours of clinical observation through the first 48 h after delivery. Additionally, intervention site staff perceived the ability to observe women for longer before and after delivery allowed them to better anticipate and plan their own work, adjust their workloads and mindset accordingly, and provide better and more timely care. When understaffing and overwork were frequently discussed, this satisfaction in providing better care was a meaningful departure.ConclusionsMWHs may benefit staff at rural health centers and the health system more broadly, allowing for the provision of more timely and comprehensive obstetric care. We recommend future studies consider how MWHs impact the workforce, operations, and service delivery at their associated health facilities. Considering the limited numbers of skilled birth attendants available in rural Zambia, it is important to strategically select locations for new MWHs.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT02620436. Registered December 3, 2015, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02620436

Effects of maternity waiting homes on perinatal deaths in an Ethiopian hospital. A case-control study

Abstract Background A Maternity Waiting Home (MWH) is a residential facility located near a medical facility, where women with high risk pregnancies can await and be transferred to the medical facility shortly before delivery or earlier if a complication arise. MWH are widespread in the developing countries, to reduce the long distances to reach health facilities. The aim of this study was to investigate whether MWH was an effective strategy in reducing perinatal deaths at Wolisso Hospital in Ethiopia, from 2014 to 2017. This hospital is supported by the Italian NGO Doctors With Africa CUAMM, with a strong commitment to reduce maternal and child mortality. Methods Through a case-control study, we compared perinatal mortality among women admitted via MWH and women admitted directly to the hospital. Cases were mothers who experienced at least a perinatal death before discharge. For each case, two mothers who gave birth to one or more babies alive until discharge were selected as controls. 3 groups of confounding variables were considered: maternal conditions or related to the current pregnancy, variables related to the delivery and neonatal characteristics. A regression model was built adjusting for each group. Statistically significant variables were combined in a final model. Results 1175 cases and 2350 controls were included. Women admitted through MWH showed a OR 0.49 (95%CI:0.33-0.71; p < 0.000) for perinatal mortality when adjusted for the maternal/current pregnancy conditions, and a OR 0.60 (95%CI:0.40-0.90, p = 0.013) when adjusted for the delivery variables. In the final model the risk of perinatal mortality for women admitted to MWH was 54% less than those admitted directly to the hospital (OR = 0.46, 95%CI:0.30-0.70; p < 0.000). Conclusions Our results show a more than halved risk of perinatal death cases for women admitted to the hospital through a MWH in rural Ethiopia, and support the policy implemented by the government in building such structures nearby each hospital. Key messages Maternity Waiting Home is a structure near a health facility, where pregnant women at risk wait for their delivery. MWH is an easy and effective tool to reduce perinatal deaths in rural Ethiopia.

The unintended consequences of maternity leaves: How agency interventions mitigate the negative effects of longer legislated maternity leaves.

To support women in the workplace, longer legislated maternity leaves have been encouraged in Scandinavian countries and recently in Canada. Yet, past research shows that longer legislated maternity leaves (i.e., 1 year and longer) may unintentionally harm women's career progress. To address this issue, we first sought to identify one potential mechanism underlying negative effects of longer legislated maternity leaves: others' lower perceptions of women's agency. Second, we utilize this knowledge to test interventions that boost others' perceptions of women's agency and thus mitigate negative effects of longer legislated maternity leaves. We test our hypotheses in three studies in the context of Canadian maternity leave policies. Specifically, in Study 1, we found that others' lower perceptions of women's agency mediated the negative effects of a longer legislated maternity leave, that is, 1 year (vs. shorter, i.e., 1 month maternity leave) on job commitment. In Study 2, we found that providing information about a woman's agency mitigates the unintended negative effects of a longer legislated maternity leave on job commitment and hireability. In Study 3, we showed that use of a corporate program that enables women to stay in touch with the workplace while on maternity leave (compared to conditions in which no such program was offered; a program was offered but not used by the applicant; and the program was offered, but there was no information about its usage by the applicant) enhances agency perceptions and perceptions of job commitment and hireability. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Does Maternity Leave Affect Labor Force Participation and Productivity?

This study evaluates the relationships between maternity leave duration, female and male labor force participation, and macroeconomic productivity in emerging countries. We build a comprehensive maternity leave data set for a panel of emerging countries at annual frequency. Our data set augments publicly available data on maternity leave with narrative evidence that identifies the exact dates when legislative changes to maternity leave policies were enacted and enforced. The higher annual data frequency allows us to study both the short-term and the intermediate-term effects of maternity leave duration. Maternity leave is associated with positive but limited effects on female labor force participation, but it is associated with significant increases in male labor force participation. There is some evidence that increases in maternity leave duration are associated with decreases in productivity in the short run, but there are no significant adverse effects at longer horizons. The results for emerging countries look substantially different when compared to the results for a panel of developed countries.

The Effects of Maternity and Parental Leave and Childcare Leave Usability on Childbirth: Focusing on New-Married Women

The Effects of Maternity and Parental Leave and Childcare Leave Usability on Childbirth: Focusing on New-Married Women

The length of maternity leave and family health

We study the relationship between the length of paid maternity leave and the physical and psychological health of the family. Using a reform of the parental leave scheme in Denmark that increased the number of weeks of leave with full benefit compensation, we estimate the effect of the length of maternity leave on a range of health indicators including hospital admissions for both mother, child and siblings and the probability of the mother receiving antidepressants. The reform increased the average post-birth maternity leave by 32 days. We find some evidence that the increase in the length of paid maternity leave matters for maternal and sibling health outcomes, but only very limited evidence for the child health outcomes. This is in line with the existing evidence that tends to find limited effects of maternity leave on children's educational and labor market outcomes. Our results suggest that any beneficial effects of increasing the length of paid maternity leave are greater for low-resource families.