June 2024
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We use a baby formula "food scare" in Israel in 2003 as a plausible natural experiment to study the causal relationship between breastfeeding and mothers' return to work after childbirth. Analysis of administrative data covering the universe of births in the country shows that first-time mothers' average months worked in the first six months after childbirth fell by about 4 percent. This effect is driven by mothers from above-median income households. The likelihood of consuming baby formula of households with new mothers decreased by about 15 percent, supporting the view that the delay in the return to work after childbirth is driven by an increase in breastfeeding. The results indicate that despite developments in technology and policy changes in recent decades, mothers still trade-off work for the benefits of breastfeeding to their children.