BACKGROUND Millions of poor households in India undertake short duration rural to urban migration along with their children to find work in the informal economy in the city. While literature has documented the precarity of such temporary jobs, typically characterized by low wages, insecure jobs, harsh recruitment regimes and economic vulnerability, little is known about its implications for children who migrate with their parents to the city. In this study, we draw attention to children of migrant construction workers and focus on their overall nutritional well-being, which remains under-studied. Our objectives were to categorize the current nutritional status of children under the age of five and determine the underlying causes of poor nutritional outcomes. METHODS The field work for this study was undertaken between May 2017 and January 2018 at five construction sites in the city of Ahmedabad. We undertook anthropometric measurements of children under the age of five [N = 131; (male: 46%, female 53%); (mean age: 31.7 months)] and categorized their nutritional status. Using the UNICEF framework on undernutrition, we examined the underlying causes of poor nutritional outcomes among this group of children with the help of qualitative methods such as interviews, focused group discussions and participant observation at the field sites. RESULTS Undernutrition was highly prevalent among the children (N = 131): stunted (40.5%); wasted (22.1%); and underweight (50.4%). We found common factors across parents interviewed such as similar misperceptions of malnutrition, long hours of work and lack of childcare provision at the worksite which resulted in disrupted quality of care. While socio-cultural beliefs and lack of information influenced breastfeeding, other factors such as inability to take breaks or lack of space further impaired infant feeding practices more broadly. Lack of dietary diversity at home, poor hygiene and sanitation, and economic inability to seek healthcare further affected child nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS Our study addresses a critical gap in migration literature in India by building a comprehensive narrative of migrant children's experiences at construction sites. We find that parents' informal work setting exposes children to a nutritionally challenging environment. Policies and programs seeking to address undernutrition, a critical challenge in India, must pay attention to the specific needs of migrant children.

中文翻译：

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印度艾哈迈达巴德的移民建筑工人子女中的营养。

背景技术印度的数百万贫困家庭与他们的子女一起进行了从农村到城市的短期迁移，以在城市的非正规经济中找到工作。虽然文献记录了这类临时工作的pre可危，通常以低工资，不安全的工作，严厉的招聘制度和经济脆弱性为特征，但对于其与父母一起移居城市的儿童的影响知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们提请注意移民建筑工人的孩子，并关注他们的总体营养状况，而这一点仍未得到充分研究。我们的目标是对五岁以下儿童的当前营养状况进行分类，并确定营养不良的根本原因。方法该研究的现场工作于2017年5月至2018年1月在艾哈迈达巴德市的五个建筑工地进行。我们对五岁以下的儿童进行了人体测量[N = 131; （男：46％，女53％）；（平均年龄：31.7个月）]，并对其营养状况进行了分类。利用儿童基金会关于营养不足的框架，我们借助定性方法，例如访谈，重点小组讨论和实地参与者观察，研究了这一组儿童营养不良的根本原因。结果儿童营养不良率很高（N = 131）：发育不良（40.5％）；儿童发育不良（40.5％）。浪费了（22.1％）; 和体重不足（50.4％）。我们发现受访父母之间存在共同的因素，例如对营养不良的类似误解，长时间的工作以及工作场所缺乏儿童保育，这导致护理质量下降。尽管社会文化信仰和信息匮乏影响了母乳喂养，但其他因素，例如不能休息或空间不足，进一步从更广泛的角度损害了婴儿喂养的习惯。家庭缺乏饮食多样性，卫生和卫生条件差以及无法寻求医疗保健的经济能力进一步影响了儿童的营养状况。结论我们的研究通过建立一个关于建筑工地上移民儿童的经历的综合叙述，解决了印度移民文学中的一个重要缺口。我们发现，父母的非正式工作环境使孩子处于营养挑战性的环境中。旨在解决营养不足的政策和计划，这在印度是一项严峻的挑战，