Maternity Leave Length and Maternal and Child Health

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究使用来自NICHD早期儿童保育和青少年发展研究（SECC）的纵向数据来调查产假长度以及分娩后工作的灵活性和强度如何影响对儿童健康和发展至关重要的产妇结局。我们关注的是产后一年内重返工作岗位的母亲。我们将估计产假的长度、分娩后工作的强度和灵活性与分娩后6、15、24和36个月测量的以下结果之间的关联：产妇抑郁症状；母乳喂养的开始和持续时间；健康儿童访问;育儿压力;母亲敏感性;以及家庭教育的质量。我们还将调查生育后产假长短和工作安排的影响是否因人口分组而异。使用SECC数据，在样本量允许的情况下，我们将检验影响是否因母亲的教育水平、婚姻状况、收入、种族/民族、儿童性别以及产假是带薪还是无薪而变化。然后，我们通过使用早期儿童纵向研究-出生队列（ECLS-B）的数据重新估计SECC开发的模型来证实研究结果。ECLS-B数据提供了足够的样本量，可以根据婚姻状况、种族/民族以及母亲是否接受福利进行单独分析。我们使用多元回归分析以及其他经验方法，包括倾向得分匹配方法和工具变量，来解决产假长度与影响孕产妇健康和育儿结果的未观察因素相关的可能性。虽然以前的工作侧重于产妇就业如何影响儿童的结果，但本研究的总体目标是了解产假长度如何影响对儿童健康和发展至关重要的产妇结果。这项研究将有助于我们了解劳动力市场的选择和影响这些选择的公共政策如何影响母亲和儿童的健康和福祉。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study uses longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECC) to investigate how maternity leave length, as well as the flexibility and intensity of work pursued after childbirth, affect maternal outcomes that are important to children's health and development. We focus on mothers who return to work within a year after childbirth. We will estimate the association between the length of maternity leave, the intensity and flexibility of work after childbirth, and the following outcomes measured 6, 15, 24, and 36 months after childbirth: maternal depressive symptoms; breastfeeding initiation and duration; well-child visits; parenting stress; maternal sensitivity; and parenting quality in the home. We also will investigate whether the effects of maternity leave length and work arrangements after childbirth vary by demographic sub-groups. Using SECC data, as sample size permits, we will test whether effects vary by maternal education level, marital status, income, race/ethnicity, child gender, and by whether the maternity leave was paid or unpaid. We then corroborate findings by re-estimating the models developed using the SECC with data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). The ECLS-B data provide sufficient sample sizes for separate analyses by marital status, by race/ethnicity, and by whether the mother receives welfare. We use multiple regression analysis along with other empirical methods, including propensity score matching methods and instrumental variables, that address the possibility that maternity leave length is correlated with unobserved factors that also affect maternal health and parenting outcomes. While previous work has focused on how maternal employment affects children's outcomes, the overarching goal of this study is to understand how maternity leave length impacts maternal outcomes that are important to child health and development. This research will contribute to our knowledge of how labor market choices and public policies that affect these choices influence the health and well being of mothers and children.