PERTANIKA
Journal of Quality of Life Studies
Full-Length Research Article
Childcare Negotiation Among Low-Income Working Mothers in Malaysia
Najwa Baharuddina
a
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Abstract
Reliable childcare is a significant yet often precarious dimension of quality of life among low-income working mothers. This study examines how urban low-income working mothers in Klang Valley, Malaysia negotiate childcare while sustaining paid work, family responsibilities, and emotional well-being. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), data were collected from eight working mothers through seven-day semi-structured diaries followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews; diary entries and interview transcripts were analysed idiographically before cross-case patterns were developed into Group Experiential Themes. The findings show that childcare was experienced not merely as a practical arrangement, but as a fragile form of care infrastructure shaped by financial constraint, limited support, and mothers’ continuous responsibility for family well-being. Although participants developed resourceful strategies to manage care and employment, these arrangements affected mothers’ emotional security, sense of maternal adequacy, family relationships, children’s safety, and ability to remain engaged in paid work. The study further shows that affordability alone is insufficient if childcare is not also accessible, trustworthy, and responsive to mothers’ working realities. This study contributes to quality-of-life scholarship by showing how childcare negotiation operates across emotional, relational, psychological, and time-related dimensions of everyday well-being, beyond material deprivation. The findings underscore the need for childcare policies that recognise unpaid care work and strengthen accessible, affordable, trustworthy, and high-quality childcare support for low-income families.
Keywords: childcare negotiation; low-income working mothers; quality of life; unpaid care work; Malaysia
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Cite As (APA)
Baharuddin, N. (2026). Childcare negotiation among low-income working mothers in Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Quality of Life Studies, 1(1), Article e001.
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