PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Leah E.M. Bevis
AU  - Kira Villa
TI  - Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Health
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.58.1.0819-10372R2
DP  - 2022 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1425--1465
VI  - 57
IP  - 5
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/5/1425.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/5/1425.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2022 Sep 01; 57
AB  - We examine the intergenerational transmission of mother-to-child health, using unique data tracking a cohort of Filipino children. We provide causal estimates of the impact of maternal health on child health and examine the persistence of this relationship from birth through adolescence. We find that mother’s health continues to impact child health throughout childhood. Previous estimates gauging transmission at any single point during childhood therefore underestimate the full impact. The effect of mother’s health on child height-for-age z-score is only partly explained by birthweight, socioeconomic mechanisms, or parental inputs—maternal health may additionally shape childhood growth trajectories until puberty.