Linking Mothers’ Literacy with Children’s Health

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A woman from ProLiteracy's partner program in Ethiopia, watering her crops. Literacy has allowed her to start and grow her own small business selling carrots.

It has long been proven that mothers with higher levels of education raise healthier children, but a group of Harvard University professors and alumni set out to understand exactly why that is.  Their book, Literacy and Mothering: How Women’s Schooling Changes the Lives of the World’s Children, explores the question, “What is it about schooling that affects child survival, fertility, and the behavioral development of children?”

The answer?  Literacy. Studies in Mexico, Zambia, Venezuela, and Nepal all revealed that literacy skills are what forge the link between education and children’s health.  Mothers who have more formal schooling are uniquely equipped to understand and apply public health information regarding hygiene skills.  They are also more likely to trust the advice of doctors and public health officials. The process of learning literacy skills actually better prepares women to grasp and follow instructions regarding the health of their children. 

To read more about Literacy and Mothering or the results of these studies, visit http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2012/09/illiteracy/.



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