Saving lives at birth: The impact of home births on infant outcomes
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Saving lives at birth : The impact of home births on infant outcomes. / Meltem Daysal, N.; Trandafir, Mircea; Van Ewijk, Reyn.
In: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2015, p. 28-50.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Saving lives at birth
T2 - The impact of home births on infant outcomes
AU - Meltem Daysal, N.
AU - Trandafir, Mircea
AU - Van Ewijk, Reyn
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Many developed countries have recently experienced sharp increases in home birth rates. This paper investigates the impact of home births on the health of low-risk newborns using data from the Netherlands, the only developed country where home births are widespread. To account for endogeneity in location of birth, we exploit the exogenous variation in distance from a mother's residence to the closest hospital. We find that giving birth in a hospital leads to substantial reductions in newborn mortality. We provide suggestive evidence that proximity to medical technologies may be an important channel contributing to these health gains.
AB - Many developed countries have recently experienced sharp increases in home birth rates. This paper investigates the impact of home births on the health of low-risk newborns using data from the Netherlands, the only developed country where home births are widespread. To account for endogeneity in location of birth, we exploit the exogenous variation in distance from a mother's residence to the closest hospital. We find that giving birth in a hospital leads to substantial reductions in newborn mortality. We provide suggestive evidence that proximity to medical technologies may be an important channel contributing to these health gains.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84933533949&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1257/app.20120359
DO - 10.1257/app.20120359
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84933533949
VL - 7
SP - 28
EP - 50
JO - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
JF - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
SN - 1945-7782
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 256519685