Mothers' Education Helps Babies
Posted on Jan 25, 2011 by JRF
Way to go moms! JRF scholar Leah and her precious baby girl.
In addition to car seats, kid scissors, and sugarless apple juice, there is another way moms can help their children. According to a recent study, “half the reduction in child mortality over the past 40 years can be attributed to the better education of women.”
“For every one-year increase in the average education of reproductive-age women, a country experienced a 9.5% decrease in child deaths.”
Improving education helps mothers worldwide become more aware of the importance of sanitation practices and how to provide safe drinking water for their children, which is especially vital in areas with limited access to clean water.
Education also generally increases a woman’s financial ability to visit the doctor when a child is sick and to have access to disease-prevention measures like vaccines.
Exciting news: Research from The University of Washington shows a growth in the average years of schooling for females from 3.5 in 1970 to slightly above 7 in 2009. In addition, 2009 research revealed that _"women were more educated than men in 87 countries, including nearly all the rich ones." _
Cheers to all the women making the world a better place through education!
To view the full article from The Washington Post click here.
Tagged: education, mothers, jrf
