Efeito Estimado do Programa Rede Cegonha na Saúde de Mães e Bebês
Health Economy. Prenatal Care. Access to health ser-
vices. Difference-in-Differences.
Regarding prenatal care and its possible effects on the health of mothers
and babies, few studies analyze the health impacts in developing countries. This
work investigates the effect of the entry of the Rede Cegonha program in Brazilian
municipalities on the postnatal health of women and babies. Differences in program
timing were explored using the new difference-in-differences for multiple periods
model. We found evidence that adherence to the program increases the percentage
of deliveries where mothers had seven or more prenatal visits and the percentage
of deliveries that took place in a hospital environment. We found no evidence that
these increases improve the postnatal health of mothers and children.