Maternal Employment Status Research Articles

The association between father involvement in caregiving and early childhood overweight or obesity.

Despite the increasing trend of paternal engagement in caregiving, fathers remain underrepresented in studies on parenting and childhood obesity. This study examined the association between father involvement in caregiving and child's weight status within a longitudinal dataset from Japan. The data were obtained from a population-based cohort study in Japan (N = 29 584). The association between father's involvement in child caregiving (age 18 months) on the weight status of the same children at age 3.5 years was examined by logistic regression and linear regression analysis. Furthermore, we checked the interaction between maternal employment & father involvement by creating four mutually exclusive groups of families. Children whose fathers were highly involved in caregiving were less likely to be overweight (OR = 0.90, 95% CI, 0.85-0.96). Employed mothers with high paternal involvement in caregiving were 30% less likely to have children with overweight or obesity compared to those with low paternal involvement (95% CI, 0.55-0.90). Father involvement in caregiving is associated with the development of overweight or obesity in early childhood, and may also modify the association between maternal employment and child's weight status. Social policies to support shared child-rearing such as expanding paid parental leave could help families to raise children with healthy weight.

Maternal employment and pregnancy outcomes in a large European maternity hospital

ObjectiveEpidemiological studies have previously reported that maternal socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with adverse feto-maternal outcomes. However, little attention has been paid to the question of the woman’s employment status. The aim of this observational study was to examine the relationship between maternal employment status at the first antenatal visit and pregnancy outcomes. Study designThe study was confined to women with a singleton pregnancy who attended for maternity care between the years 2010 and 2017 and delivered a baby weighing ≥500 g. Self-reported sociodemographic and clinical details were recorded at the first antenatal visit by a trained midwife and updated before hospital discharge. The hospital is one of the largest in Europe and accepts women from all socioeconomic groups, including women in the public system and those with private health insurance, across the rural-urban spectrum. ResultsOf the 62,395 women, the mean age was 31.5 years (SD 5.4), 39.3% were nulliparas and 70.7% were Irish born. Compared with the 45,028 (72.2%) women who reported as being in paid employment, the 4984 (8.0%) women who were unemployed had a higher rate of stillbirth (8/4984 vs. 27/45,028, p = 0.005) and homemakers had a higher incidence of neonatal death (31/12,383 vs. 73/45,028, p = 0.02). On multivariable analysis, women who were unemployed or homemakers had increased adjusted odds ratios for neonatal unit (NNU) admissions, preterm birth, low birth weight, and small-for-gestational-age. Compared to women in paid employment, women who were unemployed or homemakers were associated with younger age (<30 years) in pregnancy, multiparity, unplanned pregnancy, no or postconceptional only folic acid supplementation, anxiolytic/antidepressant use, as well as persistent smoking and illicit drug use during pregnancy. ConclusionsIn a high-income European country, women who reported as unemployed or homemakers were associated with higher rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, these women were associated with suboptimal lifestyle behaviours such as smoking and illicit drug use in early pregnancy. This highlights the need for long term public policies on female unemployment and retaining women with children in employment.

Cessation of Exclusive Breastfeeding and Determining Factors at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

Background Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is the gold standard of infant feeding practice which lasts up to 6 months postpartum. Not all infants are exclusively breastfed in developing countries, including Ethiopia. This study, therefore, assessed the magnitude and determining factors of EBF cessation practice among mothers at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Method Institutional-based cross-sectional study design using a systematic random sampling technique was applied to select 344 mothers of infants aged 9 months came for measles vaccination. Pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Independent variables with a P value of <0.05 indicated association. Result The magnitude of cessation of EBF was 21.5% with 95% CI (17.24-25.76). Maternal age ≤ 19 years [AOR = 5.53; 95% CI (1.07-28.57)], civil servants [AOR = 4.73; 95% CI (2.20-10.19)], illiterate husbands [AOR = 3.76; 95% CI (1.13-12.49)], primi-para [AOR = 2.42; 95% CI (1.22-4.79)], no postnatal follow up [AOR = 2.62; 95% CI (1.44-4.80)], and having poor knowledge on breastfeeding benefits and composition of breastmilk [AOR = 3.15; 95% CI (1.56-6.35)] were independent factors significantly associated with cessation of EBF. Conclusion and recommendation. The magnitude of cessation of EBF was high. Maternal age, parity, employment status, postnatal follow-up, and breastfeeding knowledge as well as spouse literacy level were independent factors significantly associated with cessation of EBF. Our study provides further impetus for empowering young and primi-para with breastfeeding knowledge, an extension of maternity leave time, and support for breastfeeding at the workplace.

Regional and sociodemographic determinants of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 7-9 years in Croatia.

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and analyze the determinants of overweight and obesity among Croatian schoolchildren aged 7-9 years in relation to sociodemographic factors. This study used data that were gathered as part of the WHO Europe Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative in 2015/2016. The sample for the study was nationally representative. Anthropometric measurements of 5591 children, 2811 boys and 2780 girls, were collected during 8 weeks using standardized equipment. Studied variables included child’s anthropometric measurements and demographics, maternal education and employment status. The results showed a 35.9% prevalence of overweight and obesity in Croatian 7-9-year-old children. Overweight and obesity were more frequent in boys in comparison to girls, especially among boys from the Adriatic region (42.1%). The risk of overweight and obesity was increased in boys living in the Adriatic region (ORadj=1.33; 95% CI 1.03-1.71) and in girls with high-school educated mothers (ORadj=1.36; 95% CI 1.11-1.66). Girls with unemployed mothers had a lower risk of overweight and obesity (ORadj=0.73; 95% CI 0.58-0.92). The observed prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity warrants national and local time-bound targets for reduction of childhood obesity, accompanied by detailed action plans and monitoring mechanisms.

FAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN PEMBERIAN KOLOSTRUM DI RUMAH SAKIT KHUSUS DAERAH IBU DAN ANAK PERTIWI MAKASSAR

Objective: The objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between maternal knowledge level, employment status, family support and health officer support by giving colostrum to newborns by mothers in Maternal and Child Special Hospital Makassar 2019. Method: The design of this study was survey analytic with cross sectional study approach, to know factors related to colostrum administration, with the number of samples 94 by accidental sampling. Discussion: Colostrum is the first fluid secreted by the breast gland, containing debris tissue and material present in the alveoli and ducts of the breast glands before and after the puerperium period. Secreted by breast glands from first to third day. Results: The results concluded that there was a significant correlation between knowledge with the administration of colostrum in maternal women with p value (0.000) ? 0.05, there was a relationship of occupation status with the administration of colostrum with p value (0.000) ? 0,05, there was relation of family support with colostrum with value p (0,001) ? 0,05, there was relation of officer support with giving colostrum to mother with p value (0,015) ? 0,05. Conclusion: there is a relationship of knowledge, job status. Family support, accompanied by officers with the provision of colostrum. Suggestion: It is advisable to need continuous education to mother to give colostrum to baby immediately after delivery. For working mothers should provide time to give colostrum to their babies especially shortly after childbirth, and need to socialize to all family members the importance of giving colostrum to infants to support mothers to provide colostrum in their infants as well as the need for increased motivation for health workers to support mothers maternity to give colostrum to the baby

Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Mothers Presenting to Pediatric Clinic Regarding Urinary Tract Infection Prevention in Children

Introduction: Urinary tract infection is one of the most common bacterial infections in children. It is preventable in many cases and appropriate health behaviors can protect a child from the disease or minimize its risk. Considering the relatively high prevalence of urinary tract infections in children and with regard to the important role of healthy behaviors in preventing this infection, we decided to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers regarding the prevention of urinary tract infections. Materials and Methods : This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was performed in the Pediatric Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers about UTI in children and to evaluate its relationships with some demographic features. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the literature review. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and P-values less than 5% were considered significant. Results: One hundred and fifteen mothers who presented to the Pediatric Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital participated in this study. The average knowledge, attitude, and practice score in the first part and the practice score in the second part was 6.21, 47.85, 13.86, and 10.66, respectively. A statistically significant relationship was found between the score of knowledge and attitude. The knowledge score had a significant relationship between maternal employment status, household income, and household location. There was also a significant relationship between access to information and both the knowledge and attitude scores. Conclusions: The significant relationship between access to information resources and the maternal knowledge and attitude scores confirms the importance of awareness in improving the knowledge of mothers in preventing urinary tract infection. Keywords : Knowledge; Attitudes; Practice; Urinary Tract Infections; Pediatrics.

Maternal employment and child nutritional status in Uganda.

Nearly half of all deaths among children under five (U5) years in low- and middle-income countries are a result of under nutrition. This study examined the relationship between maternal employment and nutrition status of U5 children in Uganda using the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) data. We used a weighted sample of 3531 children U5 years born to working women age 15-49. Chi-squared tests and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the relationship between maternal employment and nutritional outcomes while adjusting for other explanatory factors. Results show that children whose mothers had secondary education had lower odds of stunting and underweight compared with children whose mothers had no formal education. Children who had normal birth weight had lower odds of stunting, wasting and being underweight compared with children with low birth weight. Children whose mothers engaged in agriculture and manual work had higher odds of stunting compared with those whose mothers engaged in professional work. Additionally, children whose mothers were employed by nonfamily members had higher odds of wasting and being underweight compared with children whose mothers were employed by family members. Other determinants of child nutritional status included region, age of the mother, and age and sex of the child. Interventions aimed at improving the nutritional status of children of employed women should promote breastfeeding and flexible conditions in workplaces, target those of low socio-economic status and promote feeding programs and mosquito net use for both mothers and children.

Relationship between maternal communicative/critical health literacy and child’s asthma symptoms: Results from a population-based survey in metropolitan Japan

ObjectiveTo examine the association between maternal communicative/critical health literacy (CCHL) and child’s asthma symptoms. MethodsIn a population-based survey in greater Tokyo (N = 790 mother–child [aged 2–11 years] pairs), maternal CCHL was assessed with a validated questionnaire, and the presence of asthma symptoms in children was assessed by parent report using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood score. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to analyze the association between child’s asthma and maternal health literacy, adjusting for potential confounders. ResultsThe prevalence of child’s asthma in the past year was significantly higher in the high maternal CCHL group than in the low CCHL group (18.0% vs 12.3%,p;0.035). High maternal CCHL was positively associated with the presence of child’s asthma symptoms after adjusting for the child’s clinical factors; household income; and maternal educational attainment, psychological distress, and employment status (coefficient = 0.494, 95% confidence interval: 0.012–0.976). ConclusionHigh maternal CCHL does not necessarily lead to appropriate asthma control in children. CCHL’s role in information overload environments requires further investigation. Practice ImplicationsHealth care practitioners should provide support even to parents with high CCHL to enable them to make appropriate decisions.

Employment and health of working parents: a joint effort to uncover hidden treasures in birth cohorts

Abstract Birth and child cohorts include a wealth of valuable and under-utilized data on employment and health of parents during pregnancy, at birth and often at one or more follow-up assessments. OMEGA-NET is a EU COST Action aimed at creating a network to optimize the use of European occupational, industrial and population cohorts and to promote health research on occupation and employment. Within this network, Task Group 3.3 is exploring the possibility of exploiting birth cohort data to investigate the interplay between health, socio-economic conditions, working life and work participation of parents around and after the birth of their children, identify gaps in knowledge, and devise strategies to fill them. Using a web-based database, www.birthcohorts.net, we have identified cohorts with occupational and health information in up to 200,000 parents. Out of 47 cohorts with information on mothers, maternal employment status and occupational exposures during pregnancy were recorded in 18 and 35 cohorts, respectively. For paternal exposures, the corresponding numbers were 6 and 15. To exploit these data, many challenges have to be overcome, primarily harmonization of exposures and outcomes. Cohorts cover different time periods and geographical regions, which can be at the same time a challenge and a blessing, providing hints on causal effects and mechanisms. Other strengths of pooling birth cohorts include the life-course nature of data and the possibility to investigate neglected occupationally-related exposures like work-family conflicts and their effects on health. We argue that parental data collected in birth cohorts are a valuable under-exploited source of information that would allow cross-national comparisons of the relationships between work, career trajectories and health of young parents. Key messages Birth cohorts hide a treasure of occupational and health information of young working parents. OMEGA-NET has plans to dig them out to investigate their interplay.

Double burden of maternal and child malnutrition and socioeconomic status in urban Sri Lanka.

Child malnutrition and maternal obesity are serious public health issues in Sri Lanka. This study explores the associations between socioeconomic status and the double burden of malnutrition among school-aged children and within their household. A total of 543 primary school children aged 5–10 years (204 boys and 339 girls) in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, were included in the analysis. The nutritional statuses of thinness, normal, overweight, and obesity for children and mothers were defined according to WHO growth references and body mass index. Maternal education, household equivalent income, and maternal employment were used as socioeconomic status indicators. The proportion of child thinness and overweight was 19.3% and 13.4%, respectively, and that of maternal overweight (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) was 36.5%. A positive correlation was found between maternal body mass index and the child’s body mass index for age z-score in older boys and younger girls. A multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that lower education of mothers posed a higher association with child thinness (adjusted odds ratio = 2.33, 95% confidence interval: 1.08–5.00). Mothers with overweight and obesity were less likely to have a child with thinness (adjusted odds ratio = 0.30, 95% confidence interval: 0.16–0.58). Maternal employment status and household equivalent income were not significantly, but marginally, associated with child overweight and obesity. Socioeconomic inequality combined with maternal nutritional status affected child malnutrition. These findings suggest that the underlying circumstances within households should be considered to improve child malnutrition.

First-Year maternal employment, resources, and trajectories of father engagement with preschoolers

ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of maternal employment status during the first year of a child’s life on the trajectory of fathers’ engagement with preschool-aged children, using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 969). Further, the role of resources was examined regarding the relationship between first-year maternal employment and the fathers’ engagement trajectory, guided by the conservation of resources (COR) theory. Analyses of the growth curve models found that during children’s preschool years, the engagement trajectory of fathers whose wives were employed declined more rapidly than that of fathers whose wives were not employed. When resources are held constant, the engagement trajectory of fathers whose wives were employed declined less rapidly, resulting in an increased trajectory difference. These findings emphasize the importance of trajectories of father engagement associated with maternal employment when designing intervention programmes to increase fathers’ engagement with their infants.

Changes in Maternal Care During the Healthcare Reforms in the Republic of Georgia

Since 1991, the health system of the Republic of Georgia has passed through several phases of reform. Privatization and marketization of the healthcare system are among the major reforms. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the utilization of, and access to maternal care services during the period 1999–2010. Secondary analysis was done using data from three national reproductive health surveys (RHS). From three RHSs we selected 7,684 women who experienced childbirth/s during 5-years prior to each survey. We analyzed data on pregnancy outcome, type of childbirth, access and utilization of prenatal, natal and immediate postnatal care, and looked at associations with maternal age, ethnicity, educational level, employment status, residence, religion, and economic status. Binary and multinomial regressions were the main statistical models used along with descriptive statistics. We found that the overall utilization of prenatal care services was quite high; in the first wave, it was 92.1% then increased to 95.1% and 98.1% in the second wave and in the third wave respectively. However, utilization of postnatal services was quite low. According to RHS 1999–2000 only 10.7% of mothers utilized postnatal services, which increased to 23.3% in 2010. Women of age group 30–34 were more likely not to use prenatal care services than the other age groups. Rural dwellers, women with lower education level, and women with lower income were less likely to utilize prenatal check-ups. According to the findings from the survey, there were improvements in access to prenatal and natal care as well as utilization of maternal care services over the years. Overall, the use of maternal care has improved during the reforms.

The Effect of Maternal Rejective Parenting Attitude on Children’s Leadership: Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem and Gender Difference

This study examined the mediating effect of self-esteem in the relationship between maternal rejective parenting attitude and children’s leadership as well as identified gender differences in the mediating pathways. The mediating effects of this study were examined after controlling the effect of maternal employment status on rejection parenting attitude and the effect of siblings on the children’s leadership. Participants consisted of 330 five- and sixyear-old children (151 boys and 179 girls) and their mothers. Data analyses included t-tests, F tests, Scheffé posthoc tests and Pearson’s correlation. Structure equation modeling examined the mediating effect of self-esteem. Bootstrapping method was applied to examine the significance of the mediating effects. Gender differences in the mediating effect were examined through multiple group path analyses. The results of this study were as follows. First, self-esteem mediated the relationship between the maternal rejective parenting attitude on children’s leadership. Second, there was a significant gender difference in the mediating pathways with a full mediating effect of self-esteem for boys; however, there was only a partial mediating effect for the girls. This study has implication for investigating gender difference in the mediating mechanism of explaining variance in the leadership of preschoolers. The limitations and more implications of this study are also discussed. Keywords: maternal rejective parenting attitude, self-esteem, leadership

Full immunization coverage and its associated factors among children aged 12\u201323\u2009months in Ethiopia: further analysis from the 2016 Ethiopia demographic and health survey

BackgroundVaccination is one of the cost effective strategies reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. Further improvement of immunization coverage would halt about 1.5 million additional deaths globally. Understanding the level of immunization among children is vital to design appropriate interventions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess full immunization coverage and its determinants among children aged 12–23 months in Ethiopia.MethodsThe study was based on secondary data analysis from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). Information about 1,909 babies aged 12–23 months was extracted from children dataset. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were utilized to assess the status and factors associated with full immunization. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was computed. Variables with less than 0.05 p-values in the multivariable logistic regression model were considered as statistically and significantly associated with the outcome variable.ResultsThe overall full immunization coverage was 38.3% (95% CI: 36.7, 41.2). Rural residence (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.84), employed (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.31, 2.0), female household head (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.76), wealth index [middle (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.94) and richness (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.25,2.19)], primary school maternal education (AOR = 1.38,95% CI: 1.07, 1.78), secondary school maternal education (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.43, 3.36), diploma graduated mothers (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.61), ANC follow ups (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI:2.17 3.59), and delivery at health facilities (AOR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.36, 2.24) were significantly associated factors with full immunization.ConclusionFull immunization coverage in Ethiopia was significantly lower than the global target. Female household head and rural dwellings were negatively associated with full immunization. In contrast higher maternal education, employment, middle and rich economic status, ANC follow up, and delivery at health facility were positively associated with full immunization among 12–23 months old children. This suggests that improved health education and service expansion to remote areas are necessary to step immunization access.

Intergenerational transmission of maternal employment moderated by recollections of early maternal availability.

Does mothers' employment predict the subsequent maternal employment of their daughters? Social learning theory suggests that modeling should increase under more positive relationship conditions. We examined the congruence between mothers' maternal employment and daughters' maternal employment longitudinally across 4 periods of parenthood and as a function of the daughters' retrospective reports of her mother's emotional availability during the daughters' childhood. When all periods were considered together, mothers' maternal employment was associated with increased likelihood of daughters' maternal employment. In particular, women who recalled their mothers as more emotionally available over childhood were more likely to match their own mother's maternal employment status during their own child's high school period. These findings provide support for long-term effects of modeling. Moreover, during the high school years, these findings suggest that the modeling is moderated by the quality of the childhood relationship between mother and daughter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Are socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of small-for-gestational-age birth narrowing? Findings from a population-based cohort in the South of England

ObjectivesTo investigate socioeconomic inequalities, using maternal educational attainment, maternal and partner employment status, and lone motherhood indicators, in the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births, their time trend, potential mediation by...

Indicators of Risk for Dental Caries in Children: A Holistic Approach.

Dental caries in children is a major public health problem worldwide, with a multitude of determinants acting upon children to different degrees in different communities. The objective of this study was to determine maternal, environmental, and intraoral indicators of dental caries experience in a sample of 6- to 7-y-old children in South East Queensland, Australia. A total of 174 mother-child dyads were recruited for this cross-sectional study from the Griffith University Environments for Healthy Living birth cohort study. Maternal education, employment status, and prepregnancy body mass index were maternal indicators, and annual household income was taken as a proxy for environmental indicators. These were collected as baseline data of the study. Clinical data on children's dental caries experience, saliva characteristics of buffering capacity, stimulated flow rate, and colony-forming units per milliliter of salivary mutans streptococci were collected for the oral health substudy. Univariate analysis was performed with 1-way analysis of variance and chi-square tests. Caries experience was the outcome, which was classified into 4 categories based on the number of carious tooth surfaces. Ordinal logistic regression was used to explore the association of risk indicators with caries experience. Age (P = 0.021), low salivary buffering capacity (P = 0.001), reduced levels of salivary flow rate (P = 0.011), past caries experience (P = 0.001), low annual household income; <$30,000 (P = 0.050) and <$60,000 (P = 0.033) and maternal employment status (P = 0.043) were associated with high levels of dental caries. These data support the evidence of associations between maternal, environmental, and children's intraoral characteristics and caries experience among children in a typical Western industrialized country. All of these need to be considered in preventative strategies within families and communities. The results of this study can be used by clinicians, epidemiologists, and policy makers to identify children who are at risk of developing dental caries. With consideration of costs for treatment for the disease, this information could be used to plan cost-effective and patient-centered preventive care.

Socioeconomic position and exposure to multiple environmental chemical contaminants in six European mother-child cohorts.

Human exposure to environmental chemical contaminants at critical periods of development can lead to lifelong health consequences. Traditionally, socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are thought to experience higher contaminant exposures; however, this relationship may not hold for all contaminants. Using data from six European birth cohorts (1301 mother-child pairs), we determined biomarkers of exposure to 41 contaminants in biological samples from children (6-12 years) and their mothers during pregnancy, including organochlorine compounds (OCs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), metals, phthalate metabolites, phenols, and organophosphate (OP) pesticide metabolites. We analyzed these biomarkers with several socioeconomic position (SEP) indicators (maternal education, employment status and family affluence scale). Higher SEP was associated with higher concentrations of several chemicals during pregnancy, including certain PFASs, mercury, arsenic, several phenols, and OP pesticides. Similarly, childhood concentrations of OCs, PFASs, mercury, arsenic, and bisphenol A were higher in higher SEP groups. Conversely, cadmium exposure during pregnancy and exposure to lead and phthalate metabolites in childhood were higher in lower SEP. Principal components representing multiple pollutant exposures showed similar association with SEP. This study demonstrates that environmental chemical contaminant exposure during fetal and childhood life is not exclusively associated to lower SEP and that for several contaminants higher SEP groups incur higher exposure levels.

Relationship between stunting in children 6 to 36 months of age and maternal employment status in Peru: A sub-analysis of the Peruvian Demographic and Health Survey.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the relationship between stunting in children 6 to 36 months old and maternal employment status in Peru.MethodsA secondary data analysis was conducted using information from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Peru. We used a representative sample of 4637 mother-child binomials to determine the association between stunting in children 6 to 36 months of age and the employment status of their mothers.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting among children was 15.9% (95% CI: 13.9–16.7). The prevalence of working mothers was 63.7%. No association was found between maternal employment status and the presence of stunting in children [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.9 to 1.2; p = 0.627). However, on multivariate analysis we found that the prevalence of stunting was significantly higher among children of mothers performing unpaid work (12.4%) (PR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.2–1.6; p < 0.001) compared with those of paid working mothers.ConclusionNo significant association was found between maternal employment status and the presence of stunting in children 6 to 36 months of age. However, children of mothers doing unpaid work are at higher risk of stunting. These findings support the implementation of educational programs and labour policies to reduce the prevalence of stunting among children.

Maternal Employment Status and Minimum Meal Frequency in Children 6-23 Months in Tanzania.

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 0–23 months. The questionnaire used in these interviews was developed by adopting questions from Tanzania’s latest Demographic and Health Survey (2015–2016) 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.