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 -