Effect of Rural Women's Workload on Care Practices and Children's Growth

Abstract

The authors studied various work activities of rural women and their effects on care practices and the growth of their children. Weight for height (wasting) and height for age (stunting) were used as indicators of the growth of children and the results were compared with National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) recommended standards. The findings show that rural women have a heavy workload, working an average of 13 hours per day. This affects the time available for childcare, which is a major factor affecting the growth of children. The findings also show that there will be corresponding decreases in children's growth, by 24.5%, 54.8% and 24.1%, as workload increases in cropping, animal husbandry and offfarm activities respectively. The mean age of the children was 29 months and the parameters for growth indicate that the majority had mild to moderate malnutrition. The results also establish a significant relationship between women's workload and care practices offered on the one hand and growth of children and mothers' care practices on the other. Given adequate moral and financial support, women will contribute significantly more to agricultural development in Nigeria. Also, if enough labour-saving machines are made available, the hours spent in on-farm and off-farm activities can be reduced and women will have more time to care for their children.

Constraints of Workload in Agricultural Food Production on Children Nutritional Status, Feeding and Hygiene Practices among Rural Women in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…According to Save the Children [32], it was shown that in most developing countries, the nutritional status of under-five children is compromised by the cumulative and synergistic effects of many risk factors which include limited access to food, lack of power at the household level, and the mother's time and energy demand. Similar studies [23,33] have reported that the long-time mothers spent in farming activities was a significant risk factor for growth among their under-five children.…”

“…Workload based on the number of hours spent in the field per day, also revealed that 36.9%, 50.7%, and 12.4% had heavy, moderate, and light agricultural workloads respectively. Fabusoro, et al [23] in a study carried out in Ogun State, Nigeria indicated that rural women food producers have a heavy workload, working an average of 13 hours per day. The nutritional anthropometry of the underfive children of the mothers in the rural areas studied shows that the mean weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height Z-scores were -1.247, -1.744, and -0.233 respectively.…”

“…The workload in agricultural food production activities was identified and separated from the non-farming activity and categorized as light (≤ 20), moderate (> 20-40), and heavy (> 40) MET-hours/day. The number of hours spent in agricultural activity was also determined [23].…”

Effects of an Irrigation Project in Prevention of Migration from Rural Areas

“…During this time teenagers were in charge of looking after their small siblings. Similarly, Fabusoro et al (2004) showed various hardworking conditions of rural women and their negative effects on care practices and growth of their children.…”

Inappropriate child feeding practice and primary health care as major correlates of stunting and underweight among infants and young children 6-23months of age in food insecure households of Amhara and Oromia Regions, Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional study

“…A low level of iodized salt utilization has been reported in previous studies in Ethiopia [50,51]. Even in places with adequate resources for child feeding, nutritional knowledge and factors such as reducing work overload of mothers are crucial to improve the nutritional status of children [53].…”