Exploring the Relationship Between Maternal Occupation and Under-Five Mortality: Empirical Evidence from 26 Developing Countries

While greater female participation in the job market is seen as an effective way of achieving higher economic growth, some studies reveal that maternal employment could be a risk factor for child mortality. We analyze the association between under-five mortality and maternal employment in 26 developing countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East using Demographic and Health Surveys. Logistic regression results suggest that maternal employment is associated with a 24.5% higher risk of child mortality than stay-at-home mothers. Compared to stay-at-home mothers, maternal engagement in agriculture is associated with 24% higher odds of under-5 mortality, while engagement in blue-collar jobs is associated with 29% higher odds of under-5 mortality. We also find that white-collar jobs do not give any advantage over the stay-at-home mothers with respect to this risk. Interaction of maternal employment types with breastfeeding confirms the increased risk of child mortality for agriculture and blue-collar jobs.