Adequate nutrition is essential for early childhood to ensure healthy growth, proper organ formation, and function, a strong immune system, neurological and cognitive development. The main aim of the present study was to assess the effect of maternal employment on nutritional status among children aged 6-23 months in the town of Bale Robe, Ethiopia. A community-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on about 597 (293 unemployed and 304 employed) having children aged 6-23-month-old children sampled were employed with a multistage sampling technique. A face-to-face interview was conducted using a structured pretested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used for the statistical analysis. The magnitude of stunting (39.9 %), underweight (39⋅9 %) and wasting (22⋅2 %) was greater in 6-23-month-old children born to employed mothers than their counterparts in unemployed ones [stunted (31⋅3 %), underweight (24⋅0 %) and wasted (11⋅8 %)]. Being a girl [AOR 0⋅31; 95 % CI (0⋅17, 0⋅54)] in employed mothers and [AOR 0⋅29; 95 % CI (0⋅16, 0⋅51)] in unemployed people significantly protected stunting. This study demonstrated that the nutritional status of 6-23-month-old children is better among unemployed mothers than among employed mothers. Therefore, concerted efforts may decrease child undernutrition in a study area.
Keywords: Bale Robe; EBF, Exclusive Breastfeeding; Ethiopia; HAZ, Height-for-Age Z-score; Infant and young child; MAD, Minimum Acceptable Diet; MDD, Minimum Diet Diversity; MMF, Minimum Meal Frequency; MUAC, Mid-upper arm circumference; MUACAZ, Mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score; PCA, Principal Component Analysis; PI, Principal Investigator; SPSS, Statistical Product and Service Solutions; Stunting; UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund; Underweight; WAZ, Weight-for-Age Z-score; WHO, World Health Organization; WHZ, Weight-for-Height Z-Score; Wasting; sd, Standard Deviation.
© The Author(s) 2022.