Educated parents linked to reduced stunting in children

Greater levels of formal education achieved by both mothers and fathers are associated with a reduced likelihood of having growth-stunted children. Stunting represents linear growth failure due to poor nutrition and infections both before and after birth. Stunting in early childhood is associated with poor cognitive, motor, and social and emotional development and increased mortality. American researchers looked at indicators of child growth, parental education, and social and economic status in 590,570 families in Indonesia and 395,122 families in Bangladesh. In the families from Indonesia, roughly one third of the children younger than 5 years were growth-stunted. It was found that greater education in the mother reduced the odds of child stunting by 4 percent in urban settings and 5 percent in rural settings for each extra year of formal education. Greater education in the father decreased the odds of stunting by 3 percent for each extra year of education. In Bangladesh, where half the children showed signs of stunting, each extra year of education a mother received led to a 5 percent decline in risk of child stunting, while each extra year of education completed by the father led to a decrease in the risk of child stunting of 3 percent in rural settings and 5 percent in urban settings. Increased use of health-promoting behaviours by educated parents - like getting their kids vaccinated and giving them vitamin supplements - may help explain the findings. The researchers found evidence of this in the Indonesian families. There are other factors at play as well. For example, educated mothers may have greater input in decision-making - like where and how to spend income - and studies have shown that mothers are more likely than fathers to allocate family resources in ways that promote their child's nutrition, health and, ultimately, their physical growth. Studies have also shown that well educated women are less apt to suffer from depression than their less educated counterparts, and infants of mothers with depression are at increased risk for growth failure. The above findings highlight the importance of achieving as much schooling as possible, even in difficult situations such as civil unrest and post-disaster emergencies. Promotion of higher levels of formal education for both men and women should help promote gender equality, empower women, and, through better informed caregiving practices, reduce child stunting, and, over the long term, reduce the risk of child mortality.