Does "Out of work" get into the womb? Exploring the relationship between unemployment and adverse birth outcomes

This study uses Texas vital records from 1994 to 2003 to examine the relationship between self-reported maternal unemployment and birth outcomes, including birthweight and infant mortality. In the preferred specification, a sample containing 1,344, 605 sibling births to 604,649 mothers was used. Regression results indicated that within the same women, being unemployed was associated with lower average birthweights and higher rates of infant mortality than being engaged in market work, especially when unemployment preceded market work, and a range of hypothesized mediators did little to attenuate these relationships. Interaction models revealed that the poor average birth outcomes related to unemployment were driven by observations with at least one other indicator of health complication, such as presence of a medical risk factor. These results confirm that the relationship between unemployment and mother-child health varies across individuals, although further research is needed to understand the causal linkages connecting unemployment, health risks, and birth outcomes.