Peer-reviewed article
Work, Motherhood, and Nutrition: Investigating the Association of Maternal Employment on Child Nutritional Status in South Asia-A Systematic Review.
Waghode RT, Yadav SS, Ghooi R, Razak SA, Menon KC ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined how maternal employment affects child nutrition in South Asian countries, analyzing 19 studies from 2011-2024. The findings show that when mothers work in low-paying, unskilled jobs, their children are more likely to experience stunting, wasting, and growth failure. Urban working mothers often lack childcare support, worsening their children's nutrition. While some South Asian countries have maternal leave policies, these mainly benefit formal sector workers, leaving informal sector mothers without adequate support.
Key points
- Association between maternal employment and child nutritional status is context-dependent, with adverse effects when mothers work in unskilled, low-paying sectors
- Children of urban working mothers had poor nutritional status, often due to lack of or limited childcare support and financial assistance
- Maternal and paternal leave policies exist in South Asian countries but implementation challenges limit access, predominantly favoring formal sector workers
- Informal sector workers, particularly mothers in low-paying jobs, lack adequate employment benefit programs
- Childcare assistance and supplementary financial benefits for informal sector workers are needed to improve child nutritional outcomes
Limitations
This systematic review synthesizes findings across multiple studies and countries but does not establish causal mechanisms, only associations. The review cannot determine whether poor nutrition is a direct result of maternal employment or mediated by other factors such as income level, type of childcare, or food security.
Abstract
Background/objectives Malnutrition in children is a challenge in South Asian countries, and understanding its relation with variety of social and economic conditions is imperative. The present systematic review examined the association between maternal employment and the nutritional status of children up to twelve years old from South Asia. Methods An electronic search for research articles published in the English language between January 2011 and December 2024 was conducted in PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. Results A total of 10,247 articles from five South Asian countries were screened, resulting in the inclusion of 19 studies in the review based on well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings showed that the association between maternal employment and children's nutritional status was context-dependent, with adverse effects in children (stunting, wasting, and growth failure) when mothers worked in unskilled sectors-in low-paying jobs. Children of urban mothers had poor nutritional status, often exacerbated by the lack of or limited childcare support and financial assistance during their work absences. Additionally, many South Asian countries implemented maternal and paternal leave policies and benefits; however, the implementation challenges reduced maternal access to these benefits and predominantly favored mothers working in formal sectors. Conclusions This systematic review underscores the necessity to strengthen the employment benefit programs for working women in South Asian countries, especially for mothers working in informal sectors. The provision of childcare assistance and supplementary financial benefits to women employed in informal sectors is essential to improve the child nutritional outcomes.