A central issue in nutrition and health of children is maternal education. In Nigeria, as in many other African countries, the state ofeducaiton of women is very deplorable. In the rural areas, where traditonal values and norms are very strict, women feel relatively disenfranchised and powerless in pursuing their educational and other personal needs and goals. In addition to traditional restrictions, they suffer from religious moratorium of some sort, in their efforts to meet their social needs. Under these conditons most rural women remain predominantly ignorant, in a social revolutinary sense, thus lacking in both positive aggression and self-esteem. The authors emphasized the deliterious effects which poor maternal education and illiteracy would have on childbearing. In particualr, since a child's physical and mental well-being depend greatly on the maternal skill of nurturance and knowledge about healthful living, children of uneducated and illiterate mothers are more likely to experience greater vulnerability to diseases. Suggestions for the prevention and alleviation of maternal educational impoverishment are included for policy implementation.
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