Terrorist attacks, Islamophobia and newborns' health

Abstract

Islamophobia has increased in the last years, in part, due to terrorist attacks perpetrated by jihadist groups. This phenomenon might be a source of stress, being particularly problematic for pregnant (Muslim) women. We examine how stress generated by the 2017 Catalonia (Spain) attacks affected the health of newborns whose mothers are from a Muslim country (as the perpetrators). We use a difference-in-differences-in-differences model comparing newborns whose mothers come from a Muslim country and are residing in a municipality directly affected by the attacks, to other newborns, before-after the attacks. Results show that the share of low-birth-weight babies and deliveries with complications raise significantly by 23.77%, and 13.02%. We document a significant increase in Islamophobia and in emotional distress in our group of interest. We conclude that Islamophobia-related stress is possibly one of the channels affecting health at birth.

Keywords: Health at birth outcomes; Islamophobia; Jihadist terrorist attacks; Maternal stress.