Hardship and Hope: The Relationship Between Unconditional Prenatal and Infant Cash Transfers, Economic Stability, and

Mona Hanna1, H Luke Shaefer1, Eric Finegood1

  • 1Mona Hanna and Eric Finegood are with Michigan State University-Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Flint. H. Luke Shaefer is with the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Sumit Agarwal is with the University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Yasamean Zamani-Hank is with the Department of Family Medicine, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Jenny LaChance is with Michigan State University-Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, Hurley Medical Center, Flint.

PubMed

Objectives. To examine the impact of Rx Kids-a community-wide and unconditional prenatal and infant cash transfer program in Flint, Michigan-on economic stability, maternal mental health, and well-being. Methods. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we compared outcomes for surveyed Flint mothers who gave birth before and after Rx Kids implementation to those outside the city. Results. Relative to comparisons, mothers exposed to Rx Kids saw improvements in hardship, mental health, and well-being-notably, a 4.2-percentage-point reduction in the risk of eviction (P < .05) and a 14.0-percentage-point reduction in screening positive for postpartum depression (P < .05). Program exposure was associated with increased trust in institutions and feeling loved, hopeful, respected, and valued. Conclusions. Rx Kids, the United States' first, to our knowledge, community-wide prenatal and infant cash transfer program, is associated with improved economic stability, mental health, and well-being. Rx Kids' place-based scale provides a replicable model for efficiently addressing perinatal poverty and improving health. (Am J Public Health. 2025;115(12): 2020-2029. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308244).

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