We study the relationship between the length of paid maternity leave and the physical and
psychological health of the family. Using a reform of the parental leave scheme in Denmark
that increased the number of weeks of leave with full benefit compensation, we estimate the
effect of the length of maternity leave on a range of health indicators including hospital
admissions for both mother, child and siblings and the probability of the mother receiving
antidepressants. The reform increased the average post-birth maternity leave by 32 days …

We study the relationship between the length of maternity leave and the physical and
psychological health of the family. Using a reform of the parental leave scheme in Denmark
that increased the number of weeks of leave with full benefit compensation, we estimate the
effect of the lenght of maternity leave on a range of health indicators including the number of
hospital admissions for both mother and child and the probability of the mother receiving
antidepressants. The reform led to an increase in average post-birth maternity leave matters …