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Is there perinatal heath consequences to the closure of maternities in France? Evidence from administrative database

Ambroise Léa, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Closure of maternity units in France, like in a number of others developed countries, is a highly sensitive question that has caused heated public debate. In France, a wave of maternity unit closures starting in the late 90s was carried out for safety concerns; however these measures have been unpopular and the academic literature has produced contradictory results about their impact on maternal and infant health. Using exhaustive annual administrative data for France between 2000 and 2018, I identify which maternity units closed, when the closure occurred and the number and distance of the neighboring maternity units taking on the spillover of the closed ones. Using distance as a treatment, I provide preilimnary results on the effects of closure on perinatal health indicators at the maternity level. This broaches crucial subjects of health and public policies, as well as geographical disparities.

Keywords: Family demography, Panel studies, Politics and demography, Children and youth

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P15.