Economics Seminar - "The Effect of Hospital Breastfeeding Policies on Infant Health"

We study the effects of state adoption of hospital regulations intended to increase breastfeeding by requiring certain care standards for new mothers and their babies during their postpartum hospital stay. Leveraging variation in the rollout of these state policies, we find that policy adoption significantly increased breastfeeding initiation and duration by approximately 2{4 percent. Using restricted National Vital Statistics System linked infant birth and mortality files and HCUP state hospital inpatient discharge data, we further show that these policies improved infant health. After adoption of a regulation, infant mortality
significantly declined by approximately 0.23 deaths per 1,000 live births (4 percent); we also find significant reductions in infant hospitalization charges. Additional analyses suggest these improvements primarily occurred among medically vulnerable infants, consistent with evidence from the medical literature showing that breast milk can support immune development. We also find suggestive evidence of complementary changes in household health behaviors.