This research will examine the mechanisms by which parental care and its content affect child health using unique data from a matched household - provider survey. While accounting the decision to obtain prenatal care, we will model the effect of the quantity and quality of prenatal on intermediate maternal risk factors (smoking, drinking, employment, and nutrition), then examine the impact of these factors along with the effect of prenatal care on birth weight and gestational age. We will also model the effect of the quantity and quality of prenatal care on maternal investments in children subsequent to birth (breastfeeding, well baby care, immunizations and nutrition), and the impact of these factors along with birthweight and gestational age on health status in early childhood (weight and height). We will investigate three mechanisms by which the content of prenatal care is hypothesized to affect child health at birth: (1) Productive Effects: We will investigate the effects of provider characteristics, diagnostic tests and examinations actually received by the mother on birthweight and gestational age; (2) Informational Effects: We will investigate the effects of provider characteristics and specific information and advise provided mothers on intermediate maternal decisions regarding smoking, drinking, nutrition, and employment during pregnancy, and the effects of these decisions on birthweight and gestational age. Incentive Effects: We will investigate the effects of the quality of care on child health through its impact the timing and number of visits on birth weight and gestational age. We will also investigate two hypotheses about the effects on early childhood health: (1) Informational Effects: We will investigate the effect of provider characteristics and information and advise provided during prenatal care on maternal decisions about breastfeeding, well baby care, and immunizations. We will then investigate the impact of these variables on anthropometric measures of child health. Initial Conditions: We will investigate the effect of prenatal care on child anthropometrics via its intermediate effects on birthweight and gestational age.
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