The Impact of Maternal Employment on Infant Weight-, Length- and BMI-for-Age Based upon WHO Growth Chart Standards

Authors

  • Safaa A. Al-Zeidaneen Department of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Zarqa University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
  • Nahla S. Al-Bayyari Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
  • Marwa A. Al-Zidaneen Department of Gynecology and Obstetric, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein Hospital, Royal Medical Services, Al-Karak, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2017.06.03.5

Keywords:

Infant anthropometry, working mothers, nursery, z-score, overweight, obesity

Abstract

Background: The infancy is a time of phenomenal growth and development. Infant of working mothers have a special concern as they have less time for their infant care.

Objective: The present study aims to assess length, weight and BMI of Jordanian infants in nursery in reference to WHO growth chart standard for age Z-score and to study the impact of mothers’ work on their infant’s growth.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 92 infants aged between 3-12 months randomly and recruited from nurseries in Amman, Jordan. All selected infants their mothers are employed and working for at least 8 hour per day. The participants were divided according to gender (male; female) and age group as the following: 3-6 months; 7-9 months; and 10-12 months.

Results: The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 15.2% in all studied infants. Overweight or obesity was more prevalent among female infants aged 3-6 months and among male infants aged 7-12 months. No infant (0.00%) regardless of gender or age group was underweight, stunting nor wasting per WHO standards of BMI for age z-score.

Conclusion: Most infants of Jordanian working mothers seemingly have normal growth in weight and length and few of them were overweight or obese according to WHO standard of BMI for age z-score. These indicated that Jordan work polices support working mothers and their infants to have better health and development.

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Published

2017-09-11

How to Cite

A. Al-Zeidaneen, S., S. Al-Bayyari, N., & A. Al-Zidaneen, M. (2017). The Impact of Maternal Employment on Infant Weight-, Length- and BMI-for-Age Based upon WHO Growth Chart Standards. International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 6(3), 116–122. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4247.2017.06.03.5

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General Articles