Female labor force participation, paid maternity, caste system and child mortality in Nepal

Abstract

Reducing child mortality is given high priority by the Nepalese Government despite of this it is very high from past to present and significantly high compared to her neighbors and developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to find out if Nepalese traditional circumstances and characteristics such as high female labor force participation (FLFP), caste system and paid maternity leave are the reasons for child mortality in Nepal. The study used secondary data from Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016-17 through cross-sectional survey. Study also uses qualitative approach having in-depth interview with mothers. The sample for this study included 5,060 children born five years preceding the survey from 3,074 mothers. Among the 5,060 children, 2024 children were under 2 years and 968 were infants. Final findings were made based on the cox proportional hazard model. The study found that risk of death of infant, under 2 and under 5 was 14%, 27% and 48% higher respectively among Terai castes mothers compared to other castes mother. Risk of death of under 2 and under 5 children among working mothers was more than two times and 13% higher respectively compared to that of not working mothers. Further, risk of death of under 5 children from mothers who do not get paid maternity was 45% higher compared to that of mother who get paid maternity. These findings were supported by results from in-depth interview. The policy on child mortality should come with increased in paid maternity leave, flexible work time for mothers and special programs for Terai castes mothers