Maternal Employment and Nutritional Status of Children (6 to 59 Months)

Abstract

Background: Childhood malnutrition remains common in many parts of the world; the magnitude of worldwide stunting, and wasting in children under five years of age were 22.3 %, and 6.8 % respectively. Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition. In Nepal, 25% and 8% of children under five years old were stunted and wasted, respectively. Aim: This study aimed to assess the nutritional status of children aged 6-59 months and its relationship with maternal employment. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kritipur Municipality. A simple random sampling method was used to select a sample of 324 children aged 6-59 months. Anthropometric measurements of the children were conducted only after interviewing their mothers. Structured questionnaires and checklists were utilized to assess maternal employment and the nutritional status of children aged 6–59 months. The collected data were coded, entered into Epi Data 3.1 software, and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were used to explore associations between dependent and independent variables. Results: The overall result revealed that the prevalence of stunting was 19.4%, of which 15.2% and 23.8% were in children of employed and unemployed mothers, respectively. Low weight for age was 1.8% and wasting was about 1.8%. There was a statistically significant association between maternal employment and Stunting. Moreover, chronic malnutrition (stunting) was influenced by family type, child age, caretaker, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding practices. Conclusion: The study suggest that nutritional intervention efforts should be prioritize to enhance maternal nutritional education and expand employment opportunities and support for working mothers in the workplace.