Birth outcomes following unexpected job loss: a matched-sibling design

Abstract Background Research documents social and economic antecedents of adverse birth outcomes, which may include involuntary job loss. Previous work on job loss and adverse birth outcomes, however, lacks high-quality individual data on, and variation in, plausibly exogenous job loss during pregnancy and therefore cannot rule out strong confounding. Methods We analysed unique linked registries in Denmark, from 1980 to 2017, to examine whether a father’s involuntary job loss during his spouse’s pregnancy increases the risk of a low-weight (i.e.