IJSR - International Journal of Scientific Research

Riddhi Gupta; Sarmistha Chakrabarti; Suniti Ghosh (Chatterji)

Volume : VI, Issue : V, May - 2017

Influence of Maternal literacy on the Health Status of Children in Early and Late Childhood

Riddhi Gupta, Sarmistha Chakrabarti, Suniti Ghosh Chatterji

Abstract :

Education boosts a woman’s ability to deal with the problems of the world around her including various health problems of her children. Education helps mother’s learning about health and hygienic practices which is quite important in the context of child care also. The present research work on total 518 mother–child pair was aimed to study the influence of maternal literacy in determining the children’s health status in early and late childhood. Present data analysis reveals that maternal literacy significantly influence the health status of under–five children. But in case of older children (i.e., >5 years age) a definite but non–significant association was found between maternal literacy and most of the indicators of child’s health status. This reduced influence of maternal literacy on child’s health in late childhood may be due to the intervening effect of various environmental factors. The significant association of maternal literacy with the signs of anaemia and dental caries both in early and late childhood reflects the necessity of mother’s education in providing greater degree of protection to the child through proper nutrition and effective health care.