Loading…
Disentangling the Effects of Maternal Employment on Child Stunting in the Philippines 1
Stunting is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as impaired growth and development experienced by children due to "poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation". Children whose height-for-age fall below the WHO's child growth standards median...
Saved in:
Published in: | Journal of Philippine development 2022-01, Vol.46 (1), p.41-58 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Stunting is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as impaired growth and development experienced by children due to "poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation". Children whose height-for-age fall below the WHO's child growth standards median are considered stunted. This study analyzes the effects of maternal employment, along with mother's education, civil status, and wealth, and the child's age, sex, number of siblings, and regional dummy variable, on child stunting in the Philippines. It uses logit regression and data from the 8th National Nutrition Survey 2015 of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutritional Research Institute. Interaction variables considered are the mother's years of schooling, work, civil status, and age. It supports the literature that maternal employment increases the likelihood of stunting among children. The results show a decrease in the likelihood of child stunting if employed mothers acquired a higher level of education. The number of children in the household increases the probability of stunting, while wealth decreases the likelihood of children being stunted. Male children and those with ages between 25 and 36 months have higher stunting incidence. Based on the significant variables in the logit regression, policies should focus on mothers who are employed, particularly those who attained a lower level of education. Serious attention should also be specific to the children's age group, sex, and family poverty status. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2508-0954 2508-0849 |