The COVID-19 pandemic had far-reaching effects on the lives and livelihoods of families. Unemployment rates soared¹ and incomes dropped, resulting in financial hardships; in addition, disruptions in childcare availability resulted in many parents, particularly mothers, leaving the workforce.^2-3

Among California families with infants born in the spring of 2020…

58%

 

lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

46%

 

had a parent who lost a job or lost wages during or after pregnancy.

20%

had a parent who quit, changed, or did not take a job due to childcare problems.

Family Income Loss

Most families lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Income loss was particularly severe among Black and Hispanic families, with two-thirds experiencing income loss, and one in four Black families and one in five Hispanic families having lost all or “a lot” of income due to the pandemic. Following childbirth, families who lost all or “a lot” of income were nearly seven times more likely to have trouble paying bills than were those with no income loss.

Family income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic by race and ethnicity

Parental Job Loss

Lower income families experienced parental job loss at more than twice the rate of higher income families. Parental job loss is defined as losing a job, being laid off, or having pay or hours cut for either the birthing person or their partner, during or after pregnancy.

Parental job loss by household income*

* Income in 2019, expressed as a percentage of Federal Poverty Guildeines (FPG).

Following childbirth, birthing people whose families experienced job loss were…

4.2x more likely to
experience homelessness
or housing instability

3.5x more likely
to experience
food insecurity

 

2.4x more likely
to experience intimate
partner violence

 

1.5x more likely
to experience anxiety
or depression

…than were birthing people whose families did not experience parental job loss.

Families with jobs impacted by childcare problems during the COVID-10 pandemic by race and ethnicity

Income, Health and Policies to Support Families

Socioeconomic well-being is strongly linked to health.⁶ Factors such as employment and income can determine access to fundamental resources like housing, healthy food and health care. These factors also impact stress levels, further shaping health. 

COVID-19 pandemic-related job or income loss has had negative impacts on the health of families, including poor nutrition and food insecurity, poor mental health, and reduced access to health care, especially for families with lower incomes.^7-11 In prior recessions, job or income loss has also been linked to adverse birth outcomes and intimate partner violence.^12-15 

The increased caregiving burden during the COVID-19 pandemic associated with a lack of childcare has had negative impacts on parental mood and mental health, child behavior, and family well-being.⁷

Several federal, state, and local policies were enacted in response to the pandemic, including expansion of unemployment insurance, sick leave, paid family leave, food assistance, and Medicaid eligibility; eviction moratoria; cash assistance; and tax credits. These policies were crucial to the socioeconomic well-being of millions of California families during the COVID-19 pandemic.¹⁶

Resources for California Families

About the Data

Methods

This data brief uses 2020 data from the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA) survey, a statewide representative survey of individuals with a recent live birth in California, conducted annually since 1999, linked to birth certificates. The survey collects self-reported information about maternal and infant experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.

MIHA is a stratified random sample of English- or Spanish- speaking individuals. MIHA data used in this brief are weighted to be representative of California residents with a live birth from May 16, 2020 to June 15, 2020, excluding those who were younger than 15 years old at delivery, had a multiple birth greater than triplets, or had a missing address on the birth certificate. The MIHA 2020 sample size was 6,363. For more information on weighting and technical definitions, see the MIHA Technical Notes at go.cdph.ca.gov/MIHA‑methods.

MIHA is led by the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division in the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in collaboration with the CDPH Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Division and the Center for Health Equity at the University of California, San Francisco.

Definitions 

Family income loss (or “income loss") — Between March 2020 and the time of survey completion, the birthing person’s family lost all, lost a lot, lost some, or lost a little of their family income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parental job loss (or “job loss") — During or after pregnancy, the birthing person or their partner lost a job, were temporarily laid off, or had a cut in pay or hours.

Childcare-related job disruptions (or “childcare problems") — Since most recent birth, the birthing person or their partner had to quit, not take a new job, or greatly change a job because of problems with childcare.

References

1. California Employment Development Department, California Labor Market-Current Status. https://www.labormarket-info.edd.ca.gov/, accessed August 16, 2021.
2. D'Souza K. Amid pandemic, infants especially need quality child care, reformers say. EdSource, April 2, 2021. https://edsource.org/2021/amid-pandemic-infants-especially-need-quality-child-care-reformers-say/652345, accessed September 20, 2021.
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Characteristics of Families News Release, April 21, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/famee_04212021.htm, accessed August 16, 2021.
4. Yavorsky JE, Qian Y, Sargent AC. The gendered pandemic: The implications of COVID-19 for work and family. Sociology Compass 2021; 15:e12881.
5. Ranji U, Frederiksen B, Salganicoff A, Long M. Women, Work, and Family During COVID-19: Findings from the KFF Women's Health Survey. Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2021.
6. Pamuk E, Makuc D, Heck K, Reuben C, Lochner K. Socioeconomic Status and Health Chartbook. Health, United States, 1998. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 1998.
7. Gassman-Pines A, Ananat EO, Fitz-Henley J. COVID-19 and parent-child psychological well-being. Pediatrics. 2020;146(4). doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-007294
8. Parolin Z. Unemployment and child health during COVID-19 in the USA. The Lancet Public Health; 5(10):E521-E522, 2020.
9. The COVID-19 Economy's Effects on Food, Housing, and Employment Hardships. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2021.
10. Hake M, Dewey A, Engelhard E et al. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on food insecurity in 2020. Feeding America, October 2020.
11. Joynt J, Catterson R, Rabinowitz L. Listening to Californians with low incomes: Health care access, experiences, and concerns since the COVID-19 pandemic. California Health Care Foundation, 2020.
12. Dooley D, Prause J. Birth weight and mothers' adverse em- ployment change. J Health Social Behav 2005; 46:141-155.
13. Finch BK, Thomas K, Beck AN. The Great Recession and ad- verse birth outcomes: Evidence from California, USA. SSM – Population Health 2019; 9:2-11.
14. Margerison-Zilko C, Goldman-Mellor S, Falconi A, Downing J. Health impacts of the Great Recession: A critical review. Curr Epidemiol Rep 2016; 3:81-91.
15. Medel-Herrero A, Shumway M, Smiley-Jewell S et al. The impact of the Great Recession on California domestic vio- lence events, and related hospitalizations and emergency service visits. Preventive Med 2020; 139:2-7.
    
16. Danielson C. Pandemic aid helped lower poverty in California. Public Policy Institute of California, September 24, 2021.
    

Table 1. Income loss, job loss and childcare-related job disruptions among individuals who gave birth in spring 2020 or their partners, Maternal and Infant Health Assessment, 2020