The Impact of the Flint Water Crisis on Fertility

Flint switched its public water source in April 2014, increasing exposure to lead and other contaminants. We compare the change in the fertility rate and in health at birth in Flint before and after the water switch to the changes in other cities in Michigan. We find that Flint fertility rates decre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Demography 2019-12, Vol.56 (6), p.2005-2031
Main Authors: Grossman, Daniel S., Slusky, David J.G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Birth Rate - trends
Birth weight
Birth Weight - drug effects
Childbirth & labor
Contaminants
Demography
Embryos
Female
Fertility
Fertility - drug effects
Fetal Development - drug effects
Fetuses
Function
Geography
Health
Health Status
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Intrauterine exposure
Lead - adverse effects
Long term
Long-term effects
Male
Medicine/Public Health
Michigan - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Negative selection
Population Economics
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome - epidemiology
Prenatal exposure
Scars
Sex Ratio
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociology
Water
Water crises
Water Pollutants, Chemical - adverse effects
Water Supply
Young Adult
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Summary:Flint switched its public water source in April 2014, increasing exposure to lead and other contaminants. We compare the change in the fertility rate and in health at birth in Flint before and after the water switch to the changes in other cities in Michigan. We find that Flint fertility rates decreased by 12 % and that overall health at birth decreased. This effect on health at birth is a function of two countervailing mechanisms: (1) negative selection of less healthy embryos and fetuses not surviving (raising the average health of survivors), and (2) those who survived being scarred (decreasing average health). We untangle this to find a net of selection scarring effect of 5.4 % decrease in birth weight. Because of long-term effects of in utero exposure, these effects are likely lower bounds on the overall effects of this exposure.
ISSN:0070-3370
1533-7790
DOI:10.1007/s13524-019-00831-0