I investigate the effects of California’s paid family leave (CA-PFL) program, the first state-mandated paid leave available to both mothers and fathers in the US. I examine the effects on the overall health of mothers and fathers during two distinct periods: health immediately around childbirth and health following childbirth. To do so, I leverage the variation in the timing of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) health care topical module relative to the exact year and month of childbirth. I find that CA-PFL has improved mothers’ health during pregnancy and immediately after childbirth. This improvement in health is accompanied by a reduced likelihood of mothers not working or taking unpaid work absence. Some improvements manifest in fathers’ health too during the same period. However, I observe that fathers report more instances of feeling sick, starting around 5 months after childbirth. Further analysis reveals that the share of fathers not working or taking unpaid work absence rises temporarily when the leave period ends. Understanding the effects on fathers’ health and leave utilization is pivotal to evaluating the program’s overall benefits and potential unintended consequences given the growing focus on enhancing equal access to paid leave for both mothers and fathers.

我调查了加州带薪家庭假 (CA-PFL) 计划的影响，该计划是美国第一个州规定为母亲和父亲提供的带薪休假。我研究了两个不同时期对母亲和父亲整体健康的影响：分娩前后的健康和分娩后的健康。为此，我利用了收入和计划参与调查 (SIPP) 医疗保健主题模块相对于确切出生年份和月份的时间变化。我发现 CA-PFL 改善了母亲在怀孕期间和分娩后的健康状况。健康状况的改善伴随着母亲不工作或无薪缺勤的可能性降低。同一时期，父亲的健康状况也出现了一些改善。然而，我观察到父亲们报告更多的感觉不适的情况，从产后 5 个月左右开始。进一步的分析显示，休假期结束后，不工作或无薪缺勤的父亲比例会暂时上升。鉴于人们越来越关注加强母亲和父亲平等获得带薪休假的机会，了解对父亲健康和休假利用的影响对于评估该计划的整体效益和潜在的意外后果至关重要。