Table 1 Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics of the mothers of infants less than 6 months who participated in the three rounds of the National Family Health Survey, India
Characteristics | Unweighted counts (weighted %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Survey round | NFHS-3 | NFHS-4 | NFHS-5 |
Mothers of children aged less than 6 months | 4630 (3.72) | 22,473 (3.21) | 22,600 (3.12) |
Mother’s current age (in completed years) |  |  |  |
 < 18 | 190 (4.11) | 306 (1.36) | 283 (1.25) |
 18–34 | 4210 (90.92) | 21,176 (94.23) | 21,310 (94.29) |
 > 34 | 230 (4.97) | 991 (4.41) | 1008 (4.46) |
Mother’s Body Mass Index |  |  |  |
 Normal | 2767 (59.76) | 14,675 (65.3) | 14,335 (63.43) |
 Underweight | 1586 (34.25) | 4740 (21.09) | 4337 (19.19) |
 Overweight/Obese | 277 (5.99) | 3059 (13.61) | 3928 (17.38) |
Mother’s education |  |  |  |
 Illiterate | 2195 (47.41) | 5823 (25.91) | 4145 (18.34) |
 Primary | 663 (14.33) | 2930 (13.04) | 2529 (11.19) |
 Secondary | 1532 (33.08) | 10,821 (48.15) | 11,840 (52.39) |
 Higher | 240 (5.18) | 2899 (12.9) | 4086 (18.08) |
Maternal employment | Â | Â | Â |
 Employed | 1334 (28.82) | 2661 (11.84) | 3076 (13.61) |
 Unemployed | 3296 (71.18) | 19,812 (88.16) | 19,524 (86.39) |
Media exposure | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 3141 (67.83) | 16,587 (73.81) | 16,173 (71.56) |
 No | 1489 (32.17) | 5886 (26.19) | 6427 (28.44) |
Husband’s employment status |  |  |  |
 Employed | 4572 (98.74) | 21,170 (94.2) | 21,402 (94.7) |
 Unemployed | 58 (1.26) | 1303 (5.8) | 1198 (5.3) |
Number of household members | Â | Â | Â |
 ≤ 5 | 1435 (30.99) | 8268 (36.79) | 8694 (38.47) |
 > 5 | 3195 (69.01) | 14,205 (63.21) | 13,906 (61.53) |
Socioeconomic status as per wealth quintiles | Â | Â | Â |
 Rich | 1454 (31.41) | 7378 (32.83) | 7716 (34.14) |
 Middle | 932 (20.13) | 4425 (19.69) | 4448 (19.68) |
 Poor | 2244 (48.46) | 10,670 (47.48) | 10,437 (46.18) |
Place of residence | Â | Â | Â |
 Rural | 3505 (75.71) | 16,576 (73.76) | 17,065 (75.51) |
 Urban | 1125 (24.29) | 5897 (26.24) | 5535 (24.49) |
Region of country | Â | Â | Â |
 North | 871 (18.81) | 4245 (18.89) | 4152 (18.37) |
 South | 564 (12.18) | 2189 (9.74) | 5691 (25.18) |
 East | 734 (15.86) | 4524 (20.13) | 3756 (16.62) |
 West | 493 (10.65) | 1528 (6.8) | 1313 (5.81) |
 Central | 1065 (23) | 6926 (30.82) | 5322 (23.55) |
 Northeastern | 903 (19.5) | 3061 (13.62) | 2366 (10.47) |
Preceding birth interval | Â | Â | Â |
 < 3 years | 2634 (56.89) | 12,630 (56.2) | 11,994 (53.07) |
 >=3 years | 1996 (43.11) | 9843 (43.8) | 10,606 (46.93) |
Birth order of the infant | Â | Â | Â |
 First | 1414 (30.53) | 8627 (38.39) | 8891 (39.34) |
 Second | 1314 (28.4) | 7466 (33.22) | 7598 (33.62) |
 Third or Higher | 1902 (41.07) | 6380 (28.39) | 6111 (27.04) |
Number of antenatal check-ups received by mother | Â | Â | Â |
 < 4 | 2982 (64.4) | 10,854 (48.3) | 9241 (40.89) |
 ≥ 4 | 1648 (35.6) | 11,619 (51.7) | 13,359 (59.11) |
Birth of the infant in a health facility | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 1942 (41.94) | 18,592 (82.73) | 20,500 (90.71) |
 No | 2688 (58.06) | 3881 (17.27) | 2100 (9.29) |
Birth mode of the infant | Â | Â | Â |
 Normal vaginal | 4192 (90.53) | 18,142 (80.73) | 17,262 (76.38) |
 Caesarean section | 438 (9.47) | 4331 (19.27) | 5338 (23.62) |
Gender of the infant | Â | Â | Â |
 Male | 2308 (49.84) | 11,641 (51.8) | 11,594 (51.3) |
 Female | 2322 (50.16) | 10,832 (48.2) | 11,006 (48.7) |
Postnatal care received by the mother | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 195 (4.21) | 8328 (37.06) | 10,118 (44.77) |
 No | 4435 (95.79) | 14,145 (62.94) | 12,482 (55.23) |
Early initiation of breastfeeding | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 3074 (66.39) | 15,118 (67.27) | 17,002 (75.23) |
 No | 1556 (33.61) | 7355 (32.73) | 5598 (24.77) |
Prelacteal feed given to the infant | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 2433 (52.55) | 10,147 (45.15) | 8134 (35.99) |
 No | 2197 (47.45) | 12,326 (54.85) | 14,466 (64.01) |
Practiced exclusive breastfeeding | 2197 (47.45) | 12,326 (54.85) | 14,466 (64.01) |