Newborns’ Health Issues Affect Moms’ Work

One in five babies born in U.S. cities is in poor health, with profound and lasting impacts on their own and their mother’s lives.

Researchers reached this conclusion after following nearly 3,700 infants and their mothers through Princeton’s Fragile Families Survey, which checked in on the families six times between the child’s birth and age 15. The survey was fielded in cities with a 200,000-plus population, and the babies’ most common medical conditions were low birth weight, premature birth, and genetic or other abnormalities, such as difficulty breathing.

A body of research on the long-run prospects for children with disadvantages – whether medical or socioeconomic – has established that they have far more problems as adults. Consistent with other prior research, a study by Dara Lee Luca and Purvi Sevak at Mathematica also found an immediate consequence for newborns in poor neonatal health: a greater likelihood of having a disability such as a motor or speech disorder or neurodevelopmental problems such as ADHD and autism.

Within their first year, the infants often qualified for federal cash payments to their mothers under Supplemental Security Income for Children (SSI).

The inordinate amount of time spent caring for babies in poor neonatal health takes an enormous toll on the mothers, the researchers found. While caregiving didn’t seem to impact their mental health, their ability to hold down a job was significantly compromised. The mothers of babies in poor health worked fewer hours, especially when the children were very young, and were more likely to drop out of the labor force entirely.

A loose attachment to work also made the mothers more reliant on two federal programs in addition to SSI: SNAP food benefits and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The effects of poor neonatal health are, the researchers concluded, clear and substantial.

To read this study, authored by Dara Lee Luca and Purvi Sevak, see “Examining the Consequences of Poor Neonatal Health on the Family.”

The research reported herein was derived in whole or in part from research activities performed pursuant to a grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) funded as part of the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium.  The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not represent the opinions or policy of SSA, any agency of the federal government, or Boston College.  Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the contents of this report.  Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.