SEARCHRCTpediatrics, public health

RCT·pediatrics, public health, nutrition, epidemiology, clinical trial·PMC10360126

Maternal time investment in caregiving activities to promote early childhood development: evidence from rural India

Frontiers in Pediatrics · 17 authors, 8 centres

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TL;DR

Quantitative time-use data were collected from 704 mothers when their child was 12 months old and from 603 mothers at 18 months.

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Quantitative time-use data were collected from 704 mothers when their child was 12 months old and from 603 mothers at 18 months. Linear regression with cluster random effects was used to compare time use between intervention and control arms and over time. The central finding was no statistically significant difference in maternal time allocation between arms at either time point. The results suggest that changing maternal time allocation in resource-poor settings is challenging, even with an intervention, due to competing demands.

STUDY TYPE

RCT

SPECIALTY

pediatrics

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AI pipeline

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100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10360126

Maternal time investment in caregiving activities to promote early childhood development: evidence from rural India

Frontiers in Pediatrics

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ABSTRACT

Abstract Introduction Intervention strategies that seek to improve early childhood development outcomes are often targeted at the primary caregivers of children, usually mothers. The interventions require mothers to assimilate new information and then act upon it by allocating sufficient physical resources and time to adopt and perform development promoting behaviours. However, women face many competing demands on their resources and time, returning to familiar habits and behaviours. In this study, we explore mothers' allocation of time for caregiving activities for children under the age of 2, nested within a cluster randomised controlled trial of a nutrition and care for development intervention in rural Haryana, India. Methods We collected quantitative maternal time use data at two time points in rural Haryana, India, using a bespoke survey instrument. Data were collected from 704 mothers when their child was 12 months old, and 603 mothers when their child was 18 months old. We tested for significant differences in time spent by mothers on different activities when children are 12 months of age vs. 18 months of age between arms as well as over time, using linear regression. As these data were collected within a randomised controlled trial, we adjusted for clusters using random effects when testing for significant differences between the two time points. Results At both time points, no statistically significant difference in maternal time use was found between arms. On average, mothers spent most of their waking time on household chores (over 6 h and 30 min) at both time points. When children were aged 12 months, approximately three and a half hours were spent on childcare activities for children under the age of 2 years. When children were 18 months old, mothers spent more time on income generating activities (30 min) than when the children were 12 years old, and on leisure (approximately 4 h and 30 min). When children were 18 months old, less time was spent on feeding/breastfeeding children (30 min less) and playing with children (15 min). However, mothers spent more time talking or reading to children at 18 months than at 12 months. Conclusion We find that within a relatively short period of time in early childhood, maternal (or caregiver) time use can change, with time allocation being diverted away from childcare activities to others. This suggests that changing maternal time allocation in resource poor households may be quite challenging, and not allow the uptake of new and/or optimal behaviours. Keywords: time use, child health, early childhood development, India, time allocation

CITATION EXPORT

Neha Batura, Reetabrata Roy, Sarmad Aziz et al.. Maternal time investment in caregiving activities to promote early childhood development: evidence from rural India. Frontiers in Pediatrics. (2023). https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1120253

AUTHORS

17 · 8 CENTRES

Neha Batura, Reetabrata Roy, Sarmad Aziz, Kamalkant Sharma, Divya Kumar, Deepali Verma, Ana Correa Ossa, Paula Spinola, Seyi Soremekun, Siham Sikander, Shamsa Zafar, Gauri Divan, Zelee Hill, Bilal Iqbal Avan, Atif Rahman, Betty Kirkwood, Jolene Skordis

1Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
2Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
3Child Development Group, Sangath, New Delhi, India
4Department of Anthropology, University College London, United Kingdom
5Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
6Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
7Global Institute of Human Development, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan
8Fazaia Medical College, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan