Tranquility is a child with a full belly: Pathways linking food insecurity and maternal mental distress in Nicaragua.

Tranquility is a child with a full belly: Pathways linking food insecurity and maternal mental distress in Nicaragua. Ecol Food Nutr. 2019 Oct 01;:1-25 Authors: Piperata BA, Salazar M, Schmeer KK, Herrera Rodríguez A Abstract A growing body of literature identifies food insecurity (FI) as a critical social determinant of mental health. Across settings, quantitative studies report positive correlations between FI and mental distress, especially among women. Less understood are the pathways by which FI undermines women's mental well-being. To address this gap, we conducted six focus group discussions with 45 Nicaraguan mothers. Thematic analysis identified three themes linking the management of FI and maternal mental well-being in this setting. The theme, la lucha, underscored how the chronicity of FI served as a constant mental strain by demanding mothers strategize on a daily basis to resolve it. The themes "tranquility is a child with a full belly" and "the despairing and frustrated mother" emphasized how FI challenged women's abilities to fulfill the responsibilities of motherhood and served as a reminder of social status. Our findings advance earlier quantitative work by identifying how the management of food insecurity undermines maternal mental well-being in a low-middle income setting and indicate that policies aimed at combating food insecurity can concomitantly improve maternal mental well-being if they bolster women's agenc...
Source: Ecology of Food and Nutrition - Category: Nutrition Tags: Ecol Food Nutr Source Type: research