Maternal Health and the Baby
Boom
Stefania
Albanesi, Columbia University, NBER and CEPR
Claudia
Olivetti, Boston University and NBER
May
2009
Abstract
In
1900, one mother died for every 118 live births in the United States.
Approximately 15,000 women died of childbirth each year between 1900 and 1930,
and pregnancy related causes accounted for over 15% of all female deaths at age
15-44. For every death, twenty more mothers suffered obstetric complications
leading to severe and long term disability. Between
1936 and 1956, maternal deaths dropped by 94%, reaching modern levels by the
late 1950s. The incidence of pregnancy-related conditions also underwent a
similar reduction. We examine the
link between the decline in the maternal health burden and the mid-twentieth
century baby boom, exploiting the large cross-state variation in the magnitude
of this drop and the differential exposure of women by cohort. We find that for
every 10 unit drop in maternal mortality, completed
fertility rises by 0.6-1.1 children for women born between 1931 and 1938. These
findings provide new insights on the determinants of fertility in the U.S. and
other countries that experienced similar improvements in maternal health.
JEL
Classification: J11, J13, J24, N12, N3, N92
Keywords:
Maternal mortality; Fertility choice; Human capital; Infant Mortality; Medical progress.