Introduction: Women's labor force participation has risen around the globe in the past
few decades, maternal employment can affect children's well-being through multiple
channels, including income effects, decisions about health inputs, and time spent with
children. Overall, women's employment affects child health widely. Aim of work: To
study the impact of maternal employment on breastfeeding practice, nutritional status,
and motor development of children under two years old. Materials and methods: An
analytical cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from May 2018 to
December 2019, on 400 children under two years old who were attending a Pediatrics
Clinic or Vaccination Unit at the Primary Health Care Centers at Shebin Alkom district,
Menoufia governorate. The children who fulfilled inclusion criteria were involved in the
study, and their mothers were interviewed using an interview questionnaire. Physical
examination and complete blood count were done for children. Results: Working
mothers represented 25% of the studied sample. There were statistically significant
differences between employed and unemployed mothers as regards education, income,
and socioeconomic standard. There were statistically significant differences between
the studied groups in breastfeeding practices; exclusive breastfeeding, frequency
and duration of breastfeeding were lower among employed mothers, the rate of
hospitalization and different infections, i.e., gastroenteritis, otitis media, and repeated
throat infection, were significantly higher among children of employed mothers
compared to children of unemployed mothers (p-value ˂0.05). There was no statistically
significant difference between children of employed and unemployed mothers as regard
motor development, dentation, weight for age, length for age, and weight for length,
while anemia was significantly higher among children of unemployed compared to
employed mothers. Conclusion and recommendations: Maternal employment has a
negative impact on breastfeeding practice and increase infectious diseases occurrence
and hospitalization rate among children. The study showed that there was no effect
on motor development and nutrition status of the children. The government has to
encourage the implementation of national legislations, which mandated the employers
to provide their employees with childcare centers and nurseries near to the workplace.