Nutrition-Related Caring Practices and Women's Time Constraints: A Study in Rural Bangladesh

Recognizing the increasing reliance being placed on caring practices in large scale nutrition programs, a study was undertaken in the context of one such program, the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project, to examine the effects of women’s time constraints on the successful implementation of such programs. Women who are most seriously time-constrained are neither those at the top nor those at the bottom of the economic spectrum, but those close to the bottom who do have some limited access to resources and employment. During harvest months these women face particular difficulty in meeting even minimal childcare needs. The care-related activities which are most problematic for time-constrained women are those involving cooking, with implications for counseling messages urging increases in the daily number of child feedings. The study found that women view childcare as a duty but are much less likely to consider self-care in such terms. Accordingly, during periods of time stress, women are likely to sacrifice personal care to fulfill their duties including childcare.