Peer-reviewed article
Maternal Employment and Child Nutrition: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Policy Perspectives
Manish Madhukar, Amit Kumar ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined how mothers' work affects the nutrition of children under five in South Asia between 2011 and 2024. The research found that the impact depends heavily on the type of employment: mothers with formal jobs that offer stable income, maternity benefits, and childcare support tend to have better-nourished children, while mothers in informal or low-paid work often have children with worse nutrition. The review emphasizes that policies need to combine maternity protection, childcare services, and nutrition programmes to help improve child nutrition in South Asia.
Key points
- Child malnutrition remains a significant public health challenge in South Asia despite economic growth
- Formal-sector maternal employment with stable income, maternity benefits, flexible working conditions, and childcare support is associated with improved child nutritional outcomes
- Informal and low-paid maternal employment is associated with poorer nutritional outcomes due to inadequate maternity protection, limited childcare facilities, irregular income, and reduced caregiving time
- The impact of maternal employment on child nutrition is highly context-specific
- Integrated policies are needed that strengthen maternity protection, childcare services, social security, and nutrition-sensitive interventions
Limitations
As a systematic review of existing literature, this study cannot establish direct causal relationships between maternal employment and child nutrition, only associations. The review cannot provide detailed information about the specific mechanisms through which employment affects nutrition in individual families or communities.
Abstract
Child malnutrition remains a significant public health challenge in South Asia despite economic growth and improvements in healthcare and nutrition programmes. At the same time, increasing female labour force participation has altered traditional childcare practices, making maternal employment an important determinant of child nutritional outcomes. This systematic review examines the relationship between maternal employment and the nutritional status of children under five years of age in South Asia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Studies published between January 2011 and December 2024 from South Asian countries were systematically reviewed to assess the association between maternal employment and anthropometric indicators, including stunting, wasting, underweight, height-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index (BMI). The review indicates that the impact of maternal employment on child nutrition is highly context-specific. Formal-sector employment with stable income, maternity benefits, flexible working conditions, and childcare support generally contributes to improved child nutritional outcomes through enhanced household food security and healthcare access. Conversely, informal and low-paid employment is often associated with poorer nutritional outcomes due to inadequate maternity protection, limited childcare facilities, irregular income, and reduced caregiving time. The review highlights the need for integrated policies that strengthen maternity protection, childcare services, social security, and nutrition-sensitive interventions to improve child nutrition and promote sustainable development across South Asia.