Associations between women's empowerment and child development, growth, and nurturing care practices in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-sectional analysis of demographic and health survey data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Approximately 40% of children 3 to 4 years of age in low- and middle-income countries have suboptimal development and growth. Women's empowerment may help provide inputs of nurturing care for early development and growth by building caregiver capacity and family support. We examined the associations between women's empowerment and child development, growth, early learning, and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods and findings

We pooled data on married women (15 to 49 years) and their children (36 to 59 months) from Demographic and Health Surveys that collected data on child development (2011 to 2018) in 9 SSA countries (N = 21,434): Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda. We constructed a women's empowerment score using

SUBMITTER: Bliznashka L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8483356 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature