abstract: 'This paper investigates the health effects of the introduction of a near

  universal paid parental leave (PPL) scheme in Australia, representing a

  natural social policy experiment. Along with gender equity and workforce

  engagement, a goal of the scheme (18 weeks leave at the minimum wage

  rate) was to enhance the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies.

  Although there is evidence that leave, especially paid leave, can

  benefit mothers'' health post-partum, the potential health benefits of

  implementing a nationwide scheme have rarely been investigated. The data

  come from two cross-sectional surveys of mothers (matched on their

  eligibility for paid parental leave), 2347 mother''s surveyed pre-PPL and

  3268 post-PPL. We investigated the scheme''s health benefits for mothers,

  and the extent this varied by pre-birth employment conditions and job

  characteristics. Overall, we observed better mental and physical health

  among mothers after the introduction of PPL, although the effects were

  small. Post-PPL mothers on casual (insecure) contracts before birth had

  significantly better mental health than their pre-PPL counterparts,

  suggesting that the scheme delivered health benefits to mothers who were

  relatively disadvantaged. However, mothers on permanent contracts and in

  managerial or professional occupations also had significantly better

  mental and physical health in the post-PPL group. These mothers were

  more likely to combine the Government sponsored leave with additional,

  paid, employer benefits, enabling a longer paid leave package

  post-partum. Overall, the study provides evidence that introducing paid

  maternity leave universally delivers health benefits to mothers. However

  the modest 18 week PPL provision did little to redress health

  inequalities. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.'
affiliation: 'Hewitt, B (Corresponding Author), Univ Melbourne, Sch Social \& Polit
  Sci, Parkville, Vic 3010, Australia.

  Hewitt, Belinda, Univ Melbourne, Sch Social \& Polit Sci, Parkville, Vic 3010, Australia.

  Strazdins, Lyndall, Australian Natl Univ, Natl Ctr Epidemiol \& Populat Hlth, Canberra,
  ACT, Australia.

  Martin, Bill, Univ Queensland, Social Sci Res Inst, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.'
author: Hewitt, Belinda and Strazdins, Lyndall and Martin, Bill
author-email: belinda.hewitt@unimelb.edu.au
author_list:
- family: Hewitt
  given: Belinda
- family: Strazdins
  given: Lyndall
- family: Martin
  given: Bill
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.04.022
files: []
issn: 0277-9536
journal: SOCIAL SCIENCE \& MEDICINE
keywords: 'Australia; Maternal leave; Maternal health and wellbeing; Work place

  policy'
keywords-plus: 'MENTAL-HEALTH; CHILD-CARE; EMPLOYMENT; TIME; DEPRESSION; OUTCOMES;

  QUALITY; FAMILY; COUNTRIES; POLICIES'
language: English
month: JUN
number-of-cited-references: '49'
orcid-numbers: Strazdins, Lyndall/0000-0001-5158-6855
pages: 97-105
papis_id: 298c678463abc7a7d30e55a0f083038d
ref: Hewitt2017benefitspaid
times-cited: '30'
title: 'The benefits of paid maternity leave for mothers'' post-partum health and
  wellbeing: Evidence from an Australian evaluation'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000402215400012
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '32'
volume: '182'
web-of-science-categories: 'Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Social Sciences,

  Biomedical'
year: '2017'