Women's work and child nutrition
ResearchPublished 1981
ResearchPublished 1981
In low income households in developing countries, the proper feeding and nutritional/health care of a young child may be very time-consuming. This paper explores what is known about the relation of a woman's economic activities to her preschool aged child's nutritional status. The author suggests a general theoretical framework which can be fleshed out in accord with cultural norms, socioeconomic conditions, etc., peculiar to a particular country or a community within a country. A review of the empirical analyses which were available at the time of writing, and which might provide some insight into how the factors suggested by the theory might operate to influence nutritional status, is presented. Finally, a partial list of research needs which would contribute to the understanding of the relation of women's work to a child's nutritional status, and should be potentially valuable in the formulation of nutrition and employment policy in developing countries, is provided.
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