Association between maternal employment and child stunting in Kenya

Childhood malnutrition remains a major health problem in many parts of the world, especially developing countries. In Kenya, one in five children under the age of five years are stunted. Women’s engagement paid work may conflict with their role of caring and nurturing for the children. This can negatively affect children’s nutritional status. This study sought to investigate the effect of maternal employment and occupation on child stunting in Kenya and how these effects vary by socioeconomic status. Data analysis was done at three levels. First, univariate analysis was done on the variables. Second, bivariate analysis was used to examine relationship between the independent variables and stunting using pearson’s chi-squared (χ2) tests. Third, multiple logistic regression models were estimated to examine the association between the independent variables and child stunting. The study utilized data from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Findings indicated that while maternal employment was generally associated with higher odds of child stunting, the effects were not uniform when type of work was considered. Working was beneficial for nutritional status of children whose mothers were engaged in professional work. However, children of mothers engaged in agricultural and domestic work had higher odds of child stunting. These effects were stronger for poor households. Engagement of women in low income occupations such as domestic and agricultural work is associated with increased likelihood of childhood malnutrition especially in poor settings. Policies that promote productivity and earnings in low income occupations can help negate the positive association between maternal employment and child malnutrition.