The Effect of Hospital Postpartum Care Regulations on Breastfeeding and Maternal Time Allocation
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 15,
no. 4, October 2023
(pp. 477-513)
Abstract
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.Citation
Lawler, Emily C., and Katherine G. Yewell. 2023. "The Effect of Hospital Postpartum Care Regulations on Breastfeeding and Maternal Time Allocation." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15 (4): 477-513. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220201Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
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