Tamas Fülöp Award - The network - Towards Unity For Health

Nutritional Status of Children of
Women Sugar-Cane Farm Workers
Under-five malnutrition is high in the Siaya
District, Kenya: stunting (47%); underweight
(30%), and wasted (7%) (Bloss et al., 2004).
Early cessation of breastfeeding in a resourcepoor
environment leads to chronic malnutrition,
morbidity and mortality (Coutsoudis
and Bentley, 2004). Maternal income-
generating activities add to household
income, but often decrease mother’s time for
child-caring, leaving care-giving to relatives
(Pierre-Louis, 2007).
Cross-Sectional Study
Women sugar-cane farm workers in Kenya
work for long hours that deprive them of
quality time for child-caring. Women-specific
issues such as maternity leave, proper daycare
centres, equal pay-for-work, and regular
medical checks are not addressed by their
employers. Occupational health and safety
are major issues compromising their health
during pregnancy. To determine the duration
of breastfeeding among sugar-cane farm
workers, and to assess the nutritional status
of their children, a cross-sectional study was
implemented to determine the feeding patterns
of 128 children, aged 3 to 24 months,
whose mothers work in sugar-cane farms.
Mothers were interviewed on breastfeeding
duration and infant-feeding practices.
Children’s weights and lengths were measured
on Salter’s weighing scales and studio
meters respectively. Anthropometric parameters
of weight-for-age, length-for-age and
weight-for-length were used to assess nutritional
status.
Results
The women worked daily for 10 hours without
leave, resulting in early cessation of
breastfeeding. They earned 80 shillings per
day; inadequate to purchase nutritious
replacement feeds. Children