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

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 agency and work to reduce the stigma associated with being food insecure.

KEYWORDS:

• Poverty
• diet
• social-identity
• coping strategies
• care-giving
• Latin America

Acknowledgments

The authors thank CIDS staff members: Silvia Medrano Áviles, Reyna Duarte Calderón, Gabriela Quintanilla Hernández, Karla Espinoza Montalván, Yasuara Rivas Narváez, Walquiria Orozco, Aleyda Fuentes Reyes, Yuvielka Martínez Suazo, Ana Olivares Torres, and María Morales Vargas for their time and effort helping refine the focus group interview guide and for the rich insights they provided into the lives and experiences of mothers living in León. We also thank Perla Zeledón Zeledón for her assistance transcribing the focus group interviews.

Disclosure statement

We have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Ohio State University Office of Outreach and Engagement And The Ohio State University, Office of International Affairs;The Ohio State University, Office of Outreach and Engagement;The Ohio State University, Office of International Affairs.