The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Maternal Health

Abstract

We examine the impact of the introduction of paid maternity leave in Norway in 1977 on maternal health in the medium and long term. Using administrative data combined with survey data on the health of women around age 40, we find the reform improved a range of maternal health outcomes, including BMI, blood pressure, pain, and mental health. The reform also increased health-promoting behaviors, such as exercise and not smoking. The effects were larger for first-time and low-resource mothers and women who would have taken little unpaid leave in the absence of the reform. (JEL I12, J13, J16, J32)

The effect on women’s health of extending parental leave: a quasi-experimental registry-based cohort study

“…First, the effects of the reform on the incidence of inpatient psychiatric diagnoses confirm the psychological benefits of parental leave. 18,19 It is notable that we find such effects in a country like Denmark, which has traditionally been defined by generous and universal welfare benefits including child care. 31 These results may also shed light on the association between maternal mental health and child outcomes.…”

“…8 Second, studies documenting an association between leave duration and improved mental health have generally adopted crosssectional designs, which are vulnerable to confounding bias and reverse causality. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Although recent studies have exploited policy variations within or across countries to overcome this issue, they report mixed findings, with positive effects of the introduction or extension of paid leave on breastfeeding, 15,16 parental physical 17,18 and mental health [17][18][19][20] and alcohol use; 17 but no impact on postpartum depression 21,22 or maternal self-reported health. 22 Third, there is a paucity of studies evaluating long-term effects of parental leave.…”

Families in quarantine: COVID‐19 pandemic effects on the work and home lives of women and their daughters

“…One such solution is paid family leave, which has been shown to improve the health of mothers and children before the pandemic (Bullinger, 2019), increase health‐promoting behaviors (Bütikofer et al., 2021), and improve children's cognitive skills (Albagli & Rau, 2019). These impacts have been shown to be especially large for families with low‐resource mothers and less educated mothers, emphasizing their importance in addressing inequity for particularly disadvantaged mothers and children who are, ironically, least likely to have access to paid family leave (Albagli & Rau, 2019; Bütikofer et al., 2021). Workplaces may also encourage gender equality and the redistribution of unpaid labor by implementing leave and work arrangements which would support fathers’ abilities to combine work and caring responsibilities (King et al., 2020).…”

SUPPORT: SUrvey of Parental Leave POlicies of RadiaTion Oncology Programs and Residency Applicants

“…The dialogue regarding parental leave is difficult and concerns regarding potential discrimination are not unfounded, 19 yet we are hopeful the findings here support a growing movement to normalize and support parenthood in residency training. 7 , 8 , 15 , 20 Providing time and financial support to birthing and nonbirthing parents is a fundamental need for trainees to promote health 21 , 22 , 23 and achieve career success. Female radiation oncology residents report similar career aspirations to their male counterparts yet also bear more childcare duties.…”