PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Miller, Sarah
AU  - Persson, Petra
AU  - Rossin-Slater, Maya
AU  - Wherry, Laura R.
TI  - The Labor Market and Health Impacts of Reducing Cesarean Section Deliveries
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.1025-14609R2
DP  - 2026 Sep 09
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1025-14609R2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2026/09/01/jhr.1025-14609R2.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2026/09/01/jhr.1025-14609R2.full
AB  - We study an intervention that reduced cesarean deliveries among low-risk first-time mothers, using California birth records linked to earnings data. Exposed mothers were 8% less likely to have a c-section, with no adverse health effects. We find suggestive evidence that they were more likely to return to their pre-birth employer and had higher within-firm earnings rankings in the quarter postbirth. These labor market gains fade over time. However, mothers who had a second child were less likely to have a c-section or preterm delivery, suggesting our estimated effects from avoiding a first c-section may be lower bounds on total gains.