Maternal schooling and child health: preliminary analysis of the intervening mechanisms in rural Nepal

Abstract

This article provides evidence from a community-level study in rural Nepal of the mechanisms by which schooling affects maternal behaviour and infant and child health. Two hypotheses concerning the mechanisms are identified and tested. It was found that schooling equips women with specific skills and dispositions or identity which significantly predict two principal domains of health-care behaviour: use of medical services; and changes in household health behaviour. It was also found that women with schooling had healthier children using height-for-age as an indicator of health.