The Effect of Paid Maternity Leave on Child Health in the Middle East and North Africa

Background: The paid maternity leave is one of the factors affecting the health status of children, but this maternity leave in the Middle East and North Africa is not only less than in developed countries but also the mortality rate of children under 5 years is higher in these countries. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the paid maternity leave on children's health in the Middle East and North Africa. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and applied study was conducted by Panel data regression method with cross-sectional dependence and Common Correlated Effect Mean Group (CCEMG) and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators for 2000 and 2019. The statistical population was 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and annual time series data were extracted from World Bank databases. The study models, cross-sectional dependency tests, Pesaran unit root, Westerlund cointegration, and other required tests were estimated in Stata 16 software. Results: The average paid maternity leave for 12 countries in the Middle East and North African countries between 2000 and 2019 was 68.8 days, and in 2019, it was 78 days. The effect of maternity leave on infant mortality rate in the Augmented Mean Group and Common Correlated Effect Mean Group were -0.0018 and -0.0006, respectively, and, the effect on the under-5 mortality rate in the mentioned methods was -0.0023 and -0.0007, respectively. The coefficient of female labor force participation rate on infant mortality rate was -0.056 and the under-5 mortality rate was -0.049. Conclusion: Increasing maternity leave had a negative effect on infant and child mortality rates. Also, health expenditures and female labor force participation rates had a negative effect, and carbon dioxide production had a positive effect on infant mortality rates; therefore, policies to increase paid maternity leave for mothers, as well as policies to increase maternal employment, are proposed to increase fertility while increasing the health of infants.