IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ehbiol/v57y2025ics1570677x25000231.html

The effect of New York State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program on birth outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Engel, Katherine
  • Morrissey, Taryn W.

Abstract

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs provide material resources and time away from the labor force around the time of a child’s birth. Past research indicates that the programs improve maternal and child health and may increase fertility. To date, 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed PFML laws, with varying lengths of leave, eligibility, job protections, and benefit levels. Programs in states other than California remain understudied. We examined the effects of New York State’s (NYS) PFML program on birth outcomes using difference-in-differences (DiD) models with data from the Centers for Disease and Prevention National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) on the universe of U.S. births from 2013 to 2019. We compared trends in multiple measures of birthweight and gestational age at birth between NYS and states lacking PFML benefits during this time period, exploring mechanisms and how markers of disadvantage moderate effects. Results indicate that NYS’s PFML program led to small decreases in gestational age and birthweight. We also find evidence that the program increased fertility, partially via reductions in fetal deaths. Findings suggest that PFML may increase live births, with these additional infants driving the observed declines in birth outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Engel, Katherine & Morrissey, Taryn W., 2025. "The effect of New York State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program on birth outcomes," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:57:y:2025:i:c:s1570677x25000231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101490
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X25000231
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101490?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Khanani, I. & Elam, J. & Hearn, R. & Jones, C. & Maseru, N., 2010. "The impact of prenatal WIC participation on infant mortality and racial disparities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(S1), pages 204-209.
    2. Charles L. Baum & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2016. "The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(2), pages 333-356, April.
    3. Ahmed, Salma & Fielding, David, 2019. "Changes in maternity leave coverage: Implications for fertility, labour force participation and child mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    4. Stearns, Jenna, 2015. "The effects of paid maternity leave: Evidence from Temporary Disability Insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 85-102.
    5. Deborah Karasek & Sarah Raifman & William H. Dow & Rita Hamad & Julia M. Goodman, 2022. "Evaluating the Effect of San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance on Birth Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, September.
    6. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2007. "From the Cradle to the Labor Market? The Effect of Birth Weight on Adult Outcomes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 409-439.
    7. Claudia Goldin, 2025. "Babies and the macroeconomy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 92(367), pages 675-700, July.
    8. Markowitz, Sara & Komro, Kelli A. & Livingston, Melvin D. & Lenhart, Otto & Wagenaar, Alexander C., 2017. "Effects of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit laws in the U.S. on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 67-75.
    9. Daku, Mark & Raub, Amy & Heymann, Jody, 2012. "Maternal leave policies and vaccination coverage: A global analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 120-124.
    10. Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder & Reyn Ewijk, 2015. "In Utero Ramadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 1501-1533, December.
    11. Eleanor Golightly & Pamela Meyerhofer, 2022. "Does Paid Family Leave Cause Mothers to Have More Children? Evidence from California," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 203-238, June.
    12. Raute, Anna, 2019. "Can financial incentives reduce the baby gap? Evidence from a reform in maternity leave benefits," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 203-222.
    13. repec:ucn:wpaper:10197/317 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Bullinger, Lindsey Rose, 2019. "The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant and Parental Health in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 101-116.
    15. Witt, W.P. & Park, H. & Wisk, L.E. & Cheng, E.R. & Mandell, K. & Chatterjee, D. & Zarak, D., 2015. "Neighborhood disadvantage, preconception stressful life events, and infant birth weight," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(5), pages 1044-1052.
    16. Jiyoon Kim & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Paid family leave and the fight against hunger: Evidence from New York," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1503-1527, July.
    17. Khan, Mariam S., 2020. "Paid family leave and children health outcomes in OECD countries," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    18. Doran, Elizabeth L. & Bartel, Ann P. & Ruhm, Christopher J. & Waldfogel, Jane, 2020. "California's paid family leave law improves maternal psychological health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    19. Lee, Bethany C. & Modrek, Sepideh & White, Justin S. & Batra, Akansha & Collin, Daniel F. & Hamad, Rita, 2020. "The effect of California's paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    20. Hilary Hoynes & Doug Miller & David Simon, 2015. "Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Infant Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 172-211, February.
    21. David Figlio & Jonathan Guryan & Krzysztof Karbownik & Jeffrey Roth, 2014. "The Effects of Poor Neonatal Health on Children's Cognitive Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(12), pages 3921-3955, December.
    22. Janet Currie & Bahadir Dursun & Michael Hatch & Erdal Tekin, 2023. "The Hidden Cost of Firearm Violence on Infants in Utero," NBER Working Papers 31774, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Alexandra B. Stanczyk, 2020. "The Dynamics of U.S. Household Economic Circumstances Around a Birth," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1271-1296, August.
    24. Elizabeth Brainerd & Olga Malkova, 2023. "Maternity benefits and marital stability after birth: evidence from the Soviet Baltic republics," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2309-2345, October.
    25. Rossin, Maya, 2011. "The effects of maternity leave on children's birth and infant health outcomes in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 221-239, March.
    26. Cassandra Robertson & Rourke O’Brien, 2018. "Health Endowment at Birth and Variation in Intergenerational Economic Mobility: Evidence From U.S. County Birth Cohorts," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 249-269, February.
    27. James G. MacKinnon & Matthew D. Webb, 2017. "Wild Bootstrap Inference for Wildly Different Cluster Sizes," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 233-254, March.
    28. Olga Malkova, 2018. "Can Maternity Benefits Have Long-Term Effects on Childbearing? Evidence from Soviet Russia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(4), pages 691-703, October.
    29. Bailey, Martha J. & Byker, Tanya & Patel, Elena & Ramnath, Shanthi, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of California’s 2004 Paid Family Leave Act on Women’s Careers: Evidence from U.S. Tax Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 14217, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    30. repec:plo:pone00:0191002 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Lawrence M. Berger & Jennifer Hill & Jane Waldfogel, 2005. "Maternity leave, early maternal employment and child health and development in the US," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages 29-47, February.
    32. Figlio, David & Hamersma, Sarah & Roth, Jeffrey, 2009. "Does prenatal WIC participation improve birth outcomes? New evidence from Florida," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 235-245, February.
    33. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    34. Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2011. "Health Capital and the Prenatal Environment: The Effect of Ramadan Observance during Pregnancy," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 56-85, October.
    35. Chen, Feng, 2021. "Does Paid Family Leave Save Infant Lives? Evidence from United States," GLO Discussion Paper Series 874, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    36. Lichtman-Sadot Shirlee, 2014. "The Value of Postponing Pregnancy: California’s Paid Family Leave and the Timing of Pregnancies," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(4), pages 1467-1499, October.
    37. Krista Ruffini, 2023. "Does Unconditional Cash during Pregnancy Affect Infant Health?," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 072, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    38. Ariel Marek Pihl & Gaetano Basso, 2019. "Did California Paid Family Leave Impact Infant Health?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(1), pages 155-180, January.
    39. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie, 2011. "Killing Me Softly: The Fetal Origins Hypothesis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 153-172, Summer.
    40. Greve, Jane & Schultz-Nielsen, Marie Louise & Tekin, Erdal, 2017. "Fetal malnutrition and academic success: Evidence from Muslim immigrants in Denmark," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 20-35.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Regmi, Krishna & Wang, Le, 2022. "Maternity Leave," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1184, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Pac, Jessica & Bartel, Ann & Ruhm, Christopher & Waldfogel, Jane, 2023. "Paid family leave and parental investments in infant health: Evidence from California," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    3. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie & Valentina Duque, 2018. "Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1360-1446, December.
    4. Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2025. "Revealed comparative disadvantage of infants: Exposure to NAFTA and birth outcomes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    5. Priyanka Anand & Tamar Matiashvili & Maya Rossin-Slater, 2026. "Paid Caregiving Leave Policies and an Update on Paid Parental Leave," NBER Working Papers 34997, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Noghanibehambari, Hamid & Engelman, Michal, 2022. "Social insurance programs and later-life mortality: Evidence from new deal relief spending," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Feng Chen, 2023. "Does paid family leave save infant lives? Evidence from California's paid family leave program," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 319-337, April.
    8. Wookun Kim, 2020. "Baby Bonus, Fertility, and Missing Women," Departmental Working Papers 2011, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    9. Chatterji, Pinka & Nguyen, Trang & Ncube, Butho & Dennison, Barbara A., 2022. "Effects of New York state paid family leave on early immunizations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    10. Bullinger, Lindsey Rose, 2019. "The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant and Parental Health in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 101-116.
    11. Ahammer, Alexander & Halla, Martin & Schneeweis, Nicole, 2020. "The effect of prenatal maternity leave on short and long-term child outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. Shirlee Lichtman-Sadot & Neta Benshalom-Tirosh & Eyal Sheiner, 2020. "Conflict, Rockets, and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Israel’s Operation Protective Edge," Working Papers 2009, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    13. Brainerd, Elizabeth & Malkova, Olga, 2025. "How Religion Mediates the Fertility Response to Maternity Benefits," IZA Discussion Papers 18081, IZA Network @ LISER.
    14. Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2022. "Intergenerational health effects of Medicaid," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    15. Fabel, Marc, 2021. "Maternity leave and children's health outcomes in the long-term," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Cejka, Timotej & Waseem, Mazhar, 2022. "Long-Run Impacts of In-Utero Ramadan Exposure: Evidence from Administrative Tax Records," CEPR Discussion Papers 17176, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Habtamu Ali Beshir & Jean-François Maystadt, 2024. "Price Shocks and Human Capital: Timing Matters," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(4), pages 1567-1583.
    18. Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee & Benshalom-Tirosh, Neta & Sheiner, Eyal, 2020. "Conflict, Rockets, and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Israel's Operation Protective Edge," IZA Discussion Papers 13394, IZA Network @ LISER.
    19. Haeck, Catherine & Lefebvre, Pierre, 2016. "A simple recipe: The effect of a prenatal nutrition program on child health at birth," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 77-89.
    20. Kamble, Vaibhav, 2021. "Health Returns to Birth Weight: Evidence from Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 105150, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:57:y:2025:i:c:s1570677x25000231. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622964 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.