To stay or grow? Migration patterns and child growth in rural Bihar, India

Reshma Roshania Solveig A. Cunningham, Aritra Das, Tanusree Bag, Rakesh Giri, Guntur Sai Mala, Melissa F. Young, Sridhar Srikantiah, Tanmay Mahapatra, Usha Ramakrishnan

While the dominant patterns of migration for livelihood among the poor in India are rural-to-rural and circular, literature on the health implications of child migration has largely focused on rural-to-urban, permanent movement. We compared child growth across three migration typologies rural Bihar: circular migrant families that repeatedly migrate to rural destination sites with accompanying young children, rural households with male migrants, and rural households that do not engage in migration. We integrated network theory based on caste and tribe geography to inform our analytical approach. Our results demonstrate complex associations between nutrition status and repeated movement of children between home and destination spaces. In addition to the policy imperative of multilocational strategies for migrant families, households that do not engage in migration yet are located in high outmigration regions also require targeted livelihood and health interventions.