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In utero exposure to economic fluctuations and birth outcomes: An analysis of the relevance of the local unemployment rate in Brazilian state capitals

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  • Matias Mrejen
  • Danielle Carusi Machado

Abstract

Objective: Analyze if in utero exposure to economic downturns is associated with worsened birth outcomes. Methods: We used birth records from all live singleton births in the 27 Brazilian state capitals between October 2012 and December 2016 (n = 2,952,430) and linked them to local unemployment rates according to the mother’s residence. We estimated the association between different birth outcomes and the local unemployment rate in the three trimesters before birth. We included maternal characteristics and month, year and municipality fixed effects as covariates. We also estimated the association for different groups of mothers, based on marital status, educational level, age and race. Results: A 1 p.p. increase in the local unemployment rate in the trimester before birth is associated with 2.68% higher odds of being born with very low birthweight (

Suggested Citation

  • Matias Mrejen & Danielle Carusi Machado, 2019. "In utero exposure to economic fluctuations and birth outcomes: An analysis of the relevance of the local unemployment rate in Brazilian state capitals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0223673
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223673
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvia Kirchengast & Beda Hartmann, 2021. "Pregnancy Outcome during the First COVID 19 Lockdown in Vienna, Austria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, April.

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