Weather Shocks, Birth and Early Life Health: Evidence of Different Gender Impacts

Abstract This paper examines the impact of exposure to weather events during gestation on birth weight and anthropometric health of a cohort of children. We explore birth records for the cohort of children born between 2003 and 2013 in Sierra Leone using Demographic Health Surveys linked to temporal variation of rainfall and temperature patterns. We find that in utero droughts (or abnormally low precipitation levels) increase the prevalence of low birth weight with larger effects among boys. However, the effects of those same in utero shocks on the prevalence of stunting up to 59 months later are smaller for boys than for girls. The gender difference in estimated impacts from birth to anthropometric health is attributed to food consumption patterns that favour boys. Our results have policy implications for tracking health outcomes during early childhood using birth and anthropometric health, especially by gender.