Impact of an extension of maternity leave on mother's health

Abstract

The present study analyzes the effect of an extension to maternity leave on mothers’ health. Using administrative data from sick leave records for 84% of the total working women who gave birth during 2011, we estimate the effect of this extension in the probability of mothers taking sick leave, after the maternity leave has ended. To do so, we implemented a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, which took advantage of the fact that there is a jump in the probability of being treated after a certain threshold date. The evidence we found supports the hypothesis and demonstrates that the policy has a positive effect on mothers’ health.