Maternal Financial Autonomy as Predictor of Children's Meal Frequency: Evidence from Jimma Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Background: Optimal meal frequency is a key factor in determining nutritional outcomes for infants and young children (6 to 24 months). While previous studies have emphasized household socio-demographics and healthcare utilization as major influences on child feeding practices, fewer have focused on intrinsic maternal factors such as financial autonomy. This study explored the relationship between maternal financial autonomy and child meal frequency.

Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based study was conducted in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. A multi-stage stratified sample of 572 participants was selected from three Woredas (Mana, Gomma, and Limukossa), stratified by semiurban and rural areas. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with women caregivers using a structured questionnaire. Maternal financial autonomy was assessed across four domains adapted from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) tool, while children's meal frequency was evaluated based on WHO Infant and Young Children Feeding (IYCF) recommendations. Multivariable logistic regression was used for analysis.

Results: Among the mothers, 61.3% had the freedom to visit marketplaces, and 80.1% had the autonomy to purchase food. However, only 43.6% had autonomy over major household purchases, and 45.3% were able to work outside the home. Overall, 51.6% of the 548 mothers interviewed scored below half in the four autonomy domains. Over half (52.9%) of the children had suboptimal meal frequency. After adjusting for factors such as setting, family size, household head's sex, child sex and age, marital status, land ownership, wealth index, dependency ratio, and maternal education, maternal financial autonomy was strongly associated with improved child meal frequency (OR 5.90, 95% CI: 3.97 to 8.78).

Conclusion: Maternal financial autonomy was strongly linked to child meal frequency in the study area. Interventions should focus on enhancing women's control over resources in addition to addressing health and food security issues.