Breastfeeding and the return to work after childbirth of new mothers: Evidence from a baby formula scare

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hatsor, Limor; Shurtz, Ity
• 署名单位: Jerusalem College of Technology; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1520-6870
• DOI: 10.1002/pam.70003
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 943-963
• 关键词: paid family leave; parental leave; gender-gap; promotion; CHILDREN; milk

摘要

We use a baby formula food scare in Israel in 2003 as a plausible natural experiment to study the causal relationship between breastfeeding and mothers' return to work after childbirth. Analysis of administrative data covering the universe of births in the country shows that first-time mothers who gave birth shortly after the scare delayed their return to work. Their average months worked in the first 6 months after childbirth fell by about 11% relative to their counterparts in the previous year. Data from a major medical equipment lender in Israel indicates an increased likelihood of borrowing milk pumps, suggesting that the delay in returning to work was driven by an increase in breastfeeding. The results indicate that despite developments in technology and policy changes in recent decades, mothers still trade off work for the breastfeeding of their children.