Paid maternal leave is associated with infant brain function at 3 months of age
Natalie H. Brito, Denise M. Werchan, Annie Brandes‐Aitken, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ashley Greaves, Maggie Zhang
Abstract
Abstract The first months of life are critical for establishing neural connections relevant for social and cognitive development. Yet, the United States lacks a national policy of paid family leave during this important period of brain development. This study examined associations between paid leave and infant electroencephalography (EEG) at 3 months in a sociodemographically diverse sample of families from New York City (N = 80; 53 males; 48% Latine; data collection occurred 05/2018–12/2019). Variable-centered regression results indicate that paid leave status was related to differences in EEG power (ps < .02, R2s > .12). Convergent results from person-centered latent profile analyses demonstrate that mothers with paid leave were 7.39 times as likely to have infants with EEG profiles characterized by increased higher-Hz power (95% CI, 1.9–36.9), potentially reflecting more mature patterns of brain activity.