Children’s Health in Migrant Families: Gender and Care Dynamics

Abstract

The feminization of labor migration is one of the most apparent Socio-demographic processes in Uzbekistan, which has to varying extent affected family structure, childcare arrangements and child health. Even though female migration is a source of household income generated from remittances, it carries complicated public health consequences for left-behind children. It explores the effects of gendered migration on child health in relation to changes in caregiving and exposure to risk in migrant families in Uzbekistan. Employing a mixed methods approach, the study combines quantitative household survey data with qualitative findings from migrant families. The results suggest that maternal migration restructures primary care arrangements, and that responsibility for daily childcare is frequently assumed by grandparents or other relatives. They study substitute care that leads to variations in nutrition, hygiene supervision and utilization of preventive health services. There is additional evidence of increased risk for respiratory infection, malnutrition, delayed immunization and psychosocial stress in children from migrant families. The study also identifies environmental health pathways linking maternal absence to household sanitation practices and health-seeking behavior. Overall, the results highlight that while remittance inflows improve material well-being, gendered care deficits generate unintended child health vulnerabilities. The findings underscore the need for integrated social protection and community-based child health interventions within migration-affected regions of Uzbekistan.