Prenatal Health Investments: What's Gender Got To Do With It?

Aparna Lhila, Cornell University
Kosali I. Simon, Cornell University

Gender preference has been shown to impact many facets of parental decision-making, including fertility, marriage and investments in child health and education. In this paper we examine whether parents display gender preference in prenatal health investments, an outcome which to date has not been studied in this context. Data from the 1989-2001 U.S. Natality Detail Files are used to compare the prenatal investment decisions of mothers who have an ultrasound and eventually have a girl versus a boy. We pay particular attention to first generation immigrant mothers who were born in countries with a history of son preference. Using a difference-in-differences method we find that knowing fetal gender is female reduces the probability of quitting smoking while pregnant, and has a detrimental effect on birth weight and Apgar scores. However, there is no evidence of son preference among first generation immigrants who were born in India and China.