The toll of fertility on mothers’ wellbeing

Abstract

In this paper we study the impact of fertility on the overall wellbeing of mothers First, using US Census data for the year 1980, we study the impact of number of children on family arrangements, welfare participation and poverty status. Second, using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the period 1982-2003, we study the impact on a series of health risk factors. The findings reveal, first, that a raise in family size increases the likelihood of marital breakdown measured by the likelihood of divorce or the likelihood of the mother not living with the children's father. Second, we find evidence that mothers facing an increase in family size are not only more likely to live with other family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, they are also more likely to receive help from welfare programs. Third, consistent with an increase in welfare participation, families (mothers) are more likely to fall below the poverty line, and they face a reduction in total family income. The results using NHIS confirm a negative impact of fertility on marriage stability and an increase in welfare participation measured by an increase in the likelihood of using Medicaid and for some samples a reduction in the take-up of private health insurance. Finally, we find evidence that a shock in fertility increases the likelihood for mothers to suffer from high blood pressure during the last 12 months and also increases the propensity to smoke and risk of being obese.JEL Classification: J12, J13, I3.

Malaria ecology, child mortality & fertility

“…There is a direct biological effect of high fertility on child survival: short birth intervals can prevent mothers’ nutrient repletion in low-income settings, thus compromising the mother’s ability to provide nutrients to the fetus during pregnancy (Ronsmans, 1996; Maitra and Pal, 2008). Moreover, Caceres-Delpiano and Simonsen (2012) find evidence in the U.S. indicating that mothers with more children are more likely to suffer marital breakdown, receive welfare, and fall below the poverty line; in addition, fertility shocks increase the likelihood of mothers suffering from high blood pressure and obesity. In addition, the number of children affects risk of malaria-related death due to transmission across children, weakened immune systems due to caloric challenges, parental investment decisions (quality / quantity tradeoff ) and so on.…”

The Long-Term Consequences of Having Fewer Children in Old Age: Evidence from China's 'Later, Longer, Fewer' Campaign

“…Moreover, child-raising can be stressful for parents. Having fewer children also reduces parents' burden of childbearing, which may benefit their physical and mental health (Gove and Geerken 1977;Umberson and Gove 1989;Cáceres-Delpiano and Simonsen 2012). Secondly, parents can potentially turn to other measures of old-age support to substitute for having fewer children.…”

The State of Mental Health Among the Elderly Chinese

“…The mental health benefits of having two or more children are not experienced by the parents until they are 65 or older, but they have to endure much more mental stress until then. Previous literature has documented both time and financial pressure of children for young parents (Milkie et al, 2009;Cáceres-Delpiano and Simonsen, 2012;Ruppanner et al, 2019). This life-cycle trade-off of the mental costs from raising one vs. two or more children can also play a role in parents' low desired fertility.…”