Does giving cash to low-income moms boost access to their preferred contraception?

This paper looked at whether providing unconditional cash transfers to low-income mothers impacted their access to and satisfaction with contraception. The authors used data from the study, Baby’s First Years (BFY), New York City, New Orleans, Omaha, and Twin Cities, 2018-2022 (ICPSR 37871), which was the first randomized controlled trial to provide estimates of the causal impacts of unconditional cash gifts on the cognitive, socio-emotional, and brain development of infants and young children in low-income US families. Since the study design included giving either $333 per month or $20 per month to 1,000 low-income mothers after they gave birth, the authors of this article could make use of the same sample to learn about the impact of cash transfers on these mothers’ access to birth control. When the mothers were surveyed two years after initially receiving the cash transfers, over 65 percent reported using some type of birth control. About 75 percent said they were using the method they preferred. Getting the larger $333 monthly cash transfer did not significantly change the mothers’ contraception choices, satisfaction, or barriers compared to those getting $20. However, mothers with the $333 transfers showed some trends toward using multiple methods and more short-term options like birth control pills. Importantly, 25 percent of mothers were still not using their preferred birth control method, despite the extra cash. This suggests that while financial resources help, other factors also impact whether low-income mothers can access desired contraception.