Abstract
As women in developing world settings gain access to formal work sectors, it is important to understand how such changes might influence child nutrition. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between maternal employment status and minimum meal frequency (MMF) among children in Tanzania. Interviews were conducted with 5000 mothers of children ages 0â23 months. The questionnaire used in these interviews was developed by adopting questions from Tanzaniaâs latest Demographic and Health Survey (2015â2016) where possible and creating additional questions needed for programmatic baseline measurements. MMF was used as proxy for child nutrition. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify associations between employment status and parenting practices of Tanzanian mothers and MMF of their children. After adjusting for confounders, informal maternal employment [OR = 0.58], lack of financial autonomy [OR = 0.57] and bringing the child with them when working away from home [OR = 0.59] were negatively associated with meeting MMF. Payment in cash [OR = 1.89], carrying food for the child [OR = 1.34] and leaving food at home for the child [OR = 2.52] were positively associated with meeting MMF. Informal maternal employment was found to be negatively associated with meeting MMF among Tanzanian children. However, behaviors such as bringing or leaving prepared food, fiscal autonomy and payment in cash showed significant positive associations. These findings could help direct future programs to reduce child stunting.
Highlights
Undernutrition is a contributing cause for more than one-third of the approximately six million child deaths that occur annually across the world [1,2]
This study found low rates of exclusive breastfeeding (9%) and frequent early introduction of complementary foods, this study concluded that maternal employment presents significant challenges to optimal infant and child feeding practices in Tanzania [20]
The purpose of this study is to examine the employment status and related behaviors of mothers and their associations with minimum meal frequency (MMF) among children ages 6â23 months in Tanzania
Summary
Undernutrition is a contributing cause for more than one-third of the approximately six million child deaths that occur annually across the world [1,2]. Stunting is the most prevalent type of undernutrition and it continues to be a major public health problem [3]. World Bank indicate that 22.2% of children worldwide aged less than 5 years are stunted [4]. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected, with more than 150 million stunted children under 5 years of age [5]. The prevalence of undernutrition is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 42% of children are considered stunted (height-for-age z-score two standard deviations below median) [6]. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1137; doi:10.3390/ijerph16071137 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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