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Master's thesis in Economic analysis. ; This paper investigates how a withdrawal of the Cash-for-Care program in Norway affected the mothers' employment decision. In 2012, the Norwegian government removed 2-year-old children's eligibility for the Cash-for-Care benefit. This reform was expected to incentivize the mothers of 2-year-olds to enter the labor market or encourage them to work more. I employ a difference-in-differences method, which exploits the variation in mothers' exposure to the reform. This is to see how the reform affected the mothers of 2-year-olds compared to mothers of older children, who were not affected by the reform at all. The main results show a positive effect in the short run, when the children are 1- or 2-year-olds, but this is not statistically significant. On the other hand, my findings suggest a stronger effect in the longer run. I found a significant increase in the probability of being a full-time worker for mothers of children aged 3 years old at the end of the year. However, the results from the placebo analyses are statistically significant, which threatens the identifying assumption. This indicates that the full-time employment trends between mothers of 2-year-olds and mothers of older children are not parallel in the pre-reform era. Therefore, the results from this analysis might not be valid and it makes them difficult to interpret.

Everyone knows that there is an "obesity epidemic" raging across America, killing our children and straining our health care system. Or, at least, that is what the media, government, and medical profession have told us, and we take it as a matter of faith that what they have said about obesity is true. This fear of fat has led to billions of dollars invested in preventing or reducing obesity. Millions of men and women struggle to lose weight in order to improve their health. But is there really a link between weight and health?

Postpartum depression affects one in every seven women and anxiety is estimated to range from 13-21% in new mothers. Risk factors include prior diagnosis of depression, family history of depression, having medical complications during childbirth including a premature baby and a lack of social, emotional support. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to increase the amount of data gathered by a local perinatal support organization by analyzing the callers' demographics through phoneline surveys and use the information to expand resources and access to care for mothers with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). The project was guided by John Hopkin's Model. The volunteers screened callers' on how they heard about the perinatal support organization's phone line resource, language, insurance, zip code, ethnicity, the age range of mothers calling, the number of children the mother has and if applicable if the mother had any symptoms of PMADs with prior children. Individuals claiming to have the state's low-income government insurance was identified as one of the highest groups in need of PMADs resources. Most reported age ranges were in the typical birthing range, 25-34. Out of the women who reported that they had more than 1 child and had previous experience with PMADs, only half reported that they sought help at the time for their symptoms. More studies on the use of a telephone support service are needed to address the gaps for understanding maternal health. Telephone helplines can play an important role in helping to overcome barriers to care and provides accessible mental health support resources to families in need.