Mathematica Policy Research, Chicago, IL, 60601, USA.
Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
Stud Fam Plann. 2022 Mar;53(1):43-59. doi: 10.1111/sifp.12183. Epub 2021 Dec 8.
The earlier a woman learns about her pregnancy status, the sooner she can make decisions about her own and infant's health. This paper examines how women learn about their pregnancy status and measures how access to pregnancy tests affects earlier pregnancy knowledge. Using 10 years of individual-level monthly panel data in Nepal, we find that, on average, women learn they are pregnant in their 4.6th month of pregnancy. Living approximately a mile further from a clinic offering pregnancy tests increases the time a woman knows she is pregnant by one week (5 percent increase) and decreases the likelihood of knowing in the first trimester by 4.5 percentage points (16 percent decrease). Women with prior pregnancies experience the most substantial effects of distance within the first two trimesters, while, for women experiencing their first pregnancy, distance does not affect knowledge. These results suggest that, while access to clinics can increase pregnancy awareness for women who recognize pregnancy symptoms, other complementary policies are needed to increase pregnancy awareness of women in their first pregnancy.
女性越早了解自己的怀孕状况，就能越早做出关乎自己和婴儿健康的决策。本文探讨了女性了解怀孕状况的方式，并衡量了获得妊娠检测的机会如何影响更早的怀孕知识。我们利用尼泊尔长达 10 年的个人层面月度面板数据发现，平均而言，女性在怀孕的第 4.6 个月得知自己怀孕。距离提供妊娠检测的诊所大约一英里，会使女性得知自己怀孕的时间延长一周（增加 5%），并使她们在怀孕早期得知怀孕的可能性降低 4.5 个百分点（减少 16%）。有过怀孕经历的女性在前两个孕期受到距离的影响最大，而对于首次怀孕的女性，距离并不会影响她们对怀孕的认知。这些结果表明，虽然诊所的可及性可以提高对怀孕症状有认知的女性的怀孕意识，但还需要其他配套政策来提高首次怀孕女性的怀孕意识。
