Peer-reviewed article
Does Maternal Autonomy Influence Child Nutrition in Rural Nigeria?
Khazaei Salman, Mutiat Bukola Salawu, O. A. Oni, Ogheneruemu Obi-Egbedi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study used data from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey to examine whether maternal autonomy affects child nutrition outcomes in rural Nigeria. Among the children studied, stunting, underweight, and wasting were common, affecting 43%, 29%, and 19% respectively. The analysis found that mothers with greater autonomy—particularly in decisions about their own health and visiting friends and relatives—had children with lower risks of poor nutrition. Most mothers in the sample (71.5%) had low autonomy.
Key points
- 43.3% of children were stunted, 29.0% were underweight, and 18.7% were wasted
- 71.53% of mothers had low autonomy
- Increase in maternal autonomy on own health decisions reduced probability of negative nutrition outcomes by 0.058
- Increase in autonomy over visits to friends and relatives reduced probability of negative nutrition outcomes by 0.1077
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and uses secondary data, so it cannot establish causality or rule out reverse causation. The analysis does not explain the mechanisms through which maternal autonomy influences nutrition, nor does it explore whether other confounding factors might explain the association.
Abstract
This study examined the influence of maternal autonomy on child nutrition in rural, Nigeria. The 2013 Nigerian Demography and Health Survey data were utilized. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, composite score analysis, and ordered probit regression. About 51% of the children were male with an average age of 22.55 ± 17.22 months. Almost 43.3%, 29.0% and 18.7% of the children were stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively. Higher percentage of mothers (71.53%) had low autonomy. Increase in mother’s autonomy on own health and decision on visits to friends and relatives would decrease the probability of negative child nutrition outcome by 0.058 and 0.1077, respectively.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Increased maternal autonomy in health decisions and social participation (visiting friends and relatives)
- Population
- Mothers and children from rural Nigeria in the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey
Key finding
43.3% of children were stunted