In Nigeria, there are three studies (as well as the continued findings of Ajieroh, 2009):

• First, in Borno State in the North Eastern region the gender of the household showed a significant positive relationship with the household’s food insecurity status.  Household headed by males had a higher probability of being food insecure (Amaza, Adejobi, and Fregene 2008).  The incidence of female headship is generally low in the North, with less than 7%.

• Second, Adekanmbi et al (2011) using DHS 2008 data, consistently found that maternal education levels and maternal health seeking behaviours were positively significant with both stunting and wasting. The findings of this study support those of other similar studies, which indicated that maternal education has positive effect on childhood stunting. Twenty nine percent of children whose mothers had received no schooling where found to be wasted, against 25.4% of those with primary education, 18.6% of those with secondary and 12.9% of those with higher education.  Mothers with formal education may be knowledgeable of what to do to prevent childhood stunting from occurring or lessen the degree if it occurs, although this may operate through other pathways such as mothers with more education have higher income, more control over income and more autonomy and decision making power. The maternal health-seeking behavior index in this study was found to have positive effect on childhood stunting, which is consistent with findings of other similar studies that examined the predictors of childhood stunting (Pongou et al. 2006; Uthman 2009). The variable for female head of household shows a lower incidence of stunting to male headed households, 22.3% against 25.9%.

• Third, Ukwuani (2003) using NDHS nationwide data of 1990 showed that mother’s work and other determinants of child health had different implications for the two health outcomes examined – wasting (current nutritional status) and stunting (long term nutritional status).  The results showed that not all types of mother’s work have a negative effect on child health during infancy and positive effects on child health during childhood.  Mother’s work did not have a negative effect on stunting during infancy as expected, and wasting was only higher for children of mothers who did not earn cash from work and never went to work with their children.  Their children were about 1.87 times more likely to be wasted than children of non working mothers.  Most of the urban women because of their education are now earning income from outside employment in government ministries or the private sector or are self employed in the informal sector. This is not possible in the rural areas as most are not educated and employment opportunities in rural areas are few.

 Ajieroh suggests that allowing mothers to work to earn their own income would contribute to the reduction of child malnutrition in the regions and zones that have the highest burden of malnutrition in the country (especially North West and Sudano-Sahelian savannah). The independent effect of women’s work to earn income for child nutrition was established with positive and significant effect on child growth in regions with high levels of child malnutrition, especially the North West (where the proportion of women working is lowest at 54%). Therefore, allowing women to earn their own income would substantially contribute to the reduction of child malnutrition in areas where it is highest. He presents statistical evidence that these are significant variables in northern Nigeria (see his Tables 16-19) although he does not have measurement of level of women’s income.

When women earn income, it increases their status, feeling of self worth and confidence, and affords them some autonomy and recognition in decision-making (Smith et al. 2003; Garrett, Bassett, and Marini 2009). Additionally, income earned by women is, to a much greater extent than men’s, ploughed back into family well-being expenditures. Thus, women’s modest, yet frequent income, affects income elasticities of demand for family consumables (including basic services) more directly than men’s incomes (Schuftan, der Bruegge, and Chirmulay 1998).