Household headship and the nutritional status of children in western Kenya

This study examines how income, household division of power and maternal decision-making ability influence dietary intake and child morbidity. A sample of 154 households with children between one and three years was drawn from six villages in Busia District, western Kenya. Information on household and maternal characteristics, morbidity, dietary intake and anthropometry was gathered between July and November 1988. Household headship was found to have no significant or direct influence on children's nutritional status. Total income was higher in female-headed households. While women in male-headed households had greater financial responsibility for household maintenance, female heads of household assumed more farming responsibilities but had higher remittances from husbands. A measure of maternal differentiation was generated by principal components analysis, constituted mainly by schooling, language ability, nutrition knowledge and information seeking behaviour. Differentiation had a strong impact in lowering morbidity and was a significant predictor of greater dietary diversity and weaning practices that supported better child nutrition and growth