Women's work and child nutrition in Awka and Mgbakwu communities of Anambra state

The effect of women's work on child nutrition
was investigated in Awka and Mgbakwu communities of
Anambra State, in Nigeria. Three hundred mothers of
pre-school children (2-5 years) were used for the study.
Questionnaire, 3-day weighed food int~ke and selected
anthropometric indices were used for collecting data.
Results showed that all urban women and 95% of the
rural women were employed. The anthropometric v~lues
showed that 48.2% of the children were stunted, 22.6% \;
wasted and 12.30% were underweight when compared with.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards.
The urban children had better nutritional status than
the rural ones. women in paid employment produced
children with significantly higher w~ight for height
(43%) than the self-employed (35%), (P ~ 0.05). Preschool
children from high incarne households had higher  protein and riboflavin intakes than those from low
income. Two-year old children of women employed at or
near the home had significantly better weigh~ for
height than those of women working away from home in
bath urban and rural areas