The Effect of Hospital Postpartum Care Regulations on Breastfeeding and Maternal Time Allocation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lawler, Emily C.; Yewell, Katherine G.
• 署名单位: University System of Georgia; University of Georgia; State University System of Florida; Florida State University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20220201
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 477-513
• 关键词: intervention trial; blood-pressure; Child-care; LEAVE; HEALTH; EMPLOYMENT; promotion; mothers; adiposity; benefits

摘要

We study the effects of state hospital regulations intended to increase breastfeeding by requiring certain standards of care during the immediate postpartum hospital stay. We find that these regulations significantly increased breastfeeding initiation by 3.8 percentage points (5.1 percent) and the probability of breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months postpartum by approximately 7 percent. We also provide evidence that these breastfeeding-promoting policies significantly increased maternal time spent on child care, crowding out time spent on formal work. Observed reductions in employment are concentrated among mothers with infants between zero and three months of age.