On Wednesday SNS, Centre for Business and Policy Studies, presented a report written by Therese Nilsson, IFN and Lund University, and Martin Karlsson, University of Duiburg-Essen. The researchers have studied the introduction of free infant care in Sweden in the 1930s. Their research shows that prenatal and infant care reduced the risk of infant death by 24 percent. It was especially children of single mothers and children in families who previously lost a child before one year of age who benefited from the care.
Even in the longer term, the effects were positive: children's reading and writing skills improved, especially high-performing girls were positively affected. In adulthood, women's employment and income also increased. In addition, the trial led to increased life expectancy among both men and women. The results have the potential to affect health priorities in the world's developing countries.
Read SNS Analys nr 49; "Den allmänna och fria spädbarnsvårdens betydelse för hälsa, utbildning och inkomster"
