TY  - JOUR
AU  - Chatterji,Pinka
AU  - Markowitz,Sara
TI  - Does the Length of Maternity Leave Affect Maternal Health?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10206
PY  - 2004
Y2  - January 2004
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10206
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10206.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Pinka Chatterji
State University of New York at Albany
Economics Department
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY  12222
Tel: 518/442-4746
E-Mail: pchatterji@albany.edu

Sara Markowitz
Department of Economics
Emory University
1602 Fishburne Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30322
Tel: (404) 712-8167
E-Mail: sara.markowitz@emory.edu
AB  - The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the length of maternity leave on maternal health in a sample of working mothers. Two measures of depression and a measure of overall health are used to represent maternal health. Ordinary Least Squares models provide baseline estimates, and instrumental variables models account for the potential endogeneity of the return-to-work decision. The findings suggest that returning to work later may reduce the number or frequency of depressive symptoms, but the length of time before returning to work is not associated with a lower probability of being a likely case of clinical depression. Similarly, there is little evidence that longer maternity leave impacts physical and mental health as measured by frequent outpatient visits during the first six months after childbirth.
ER  -