Maternal Exit from Employment after Premature Birth

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Public Health
• Economics

Background:

• Maternal employment is crucial for household financial stability.
• Infant health conditions like preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) can pose significant challenges for families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between infant preterm birth (PTB) or low birth weight (LBW) and maternal exit from employment after childbirth.
• To understand the impact of infant health on maternal labor force participation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort.
• Tracking maternal employment status up to two years after birth for mothers working at the start of the birth month.
• Utilizing multivariable Cox regression to assess the hazard of maternal employment exit.

Main Results:

• Low birth weight (LBW) was independently associated with a 34% greater hazard of maternal exit from employment (HR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.66; p=0.007).
• Preterm birth (PTB) was not independently associated with maternal exit from employment after controlling for birth weight.
• The study included 2,647 births, with 13% being preterm and 7% having low birth weight.

Conclusions:

• Low birth weight (LBW), not preterm birth (PTB), is independently linked to an increased risk of mothers leaving the workforce.
• Maternal labor force exit can worsen financial difficulties for families already facing challenges due to LBW infants.
• Policy implications may involve supporting employment retention for mothers of LBW infants.