Table 2 Characteristics of pooled participants by maternal autonomy (N = 7,348).
From: Higher maternal autonomy is associated with reduced child stunting in Malawi
Characteristics | Low autonomy (n = 1643) | Moderate autonomy (n = 3596) | High autonomy (n = 2109) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | ||
Child stunting | 42.5 | 39.3 | 36.5 | < 0.001 |
Child factors | ||||
Age (months) | < 0.001 | |||
0–11 | 24.3 | 26.3 | 25.1 | |
12–23 | 31.6 | 27.3 | 23.5 | |
24–35 | 20.0 | 22.0 | 22.9 | |
36–47 | 15.3 | 15.3 | 17.6 | |
48–59 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 10.8 | |
Age (months) Mean (SD) | 15.1 | 15.2 | 18.8 | |
Sex, Girl | 50.1 | 51.8 | 50.9 | 0.737 |
Child had diarrhea recently, Yes | 24.2 | 22.5 | 19.7 | 0.009 |
Maternal factors | ||||
Age (years) | < 0.001 | |||
15–19 | 7.5 | 9.4 | 4.8 | |
20–24 | 29.0 | 28.6 | 25.0 | |
25–29 | 23.9 | 28.2 | 26.4 | |
30–34 | 18.3 | 16.6 | 22.0 | |
35–39 | 12.3 | 10.8 | 14.4 | |
40–44 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 5.4 | |
45–49 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.0 | |
Age (years) Mean (SD) | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.7 | |
Marital status | < 0.001 | |||
Not married | 2.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | |
Married/cohabiting | 92.7 | 79.1 | 100 | |
Divorced/separated/widowed | 5.3 | 16.2 | 0.0 | |
Number of other wives†† | 0.002 | |||
0 | 86.2 | 88.2 | 89.2 | |
1 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 10.2 | |
2 + | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | |
Mother’s BMI (kg/m2)†† | < 0.001 | |||
Underweight (< 18.5) | 5.8 | 6.1 | 4.6 | |
Normal (18.5–24.9) | 76.5 | 76.6 | 70.0 | |
Overweight (≥ 25.0) | 17.7 | 17.3 | 25.4 | |
Mother’s education level | < 0.001 | |||
No education | 15.5 | 14.8 | 11.4 | |
Primary | 71.9 | 65.6 | 63.3 | |
Secondary or higher | 12.6 | 19.6 | 25.3 | |
Occupation | < 0.001 | |||
Housekeeping/agriculture | 76.6 | 73.4 | 66.1 | |
Professional/service/manual labor | 23.4 | 26.6 | 33.9 | |
Breastfeeding duration†† | < 0.001 | |||
Never breastfed | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | |
Stopped breastfeeding | 42.8 | 44.5 | 50.7 | |
Still breastfeeding | 56.0 | 54.3 | 47.9 | |
Current pregnancy status, Pregnant | 9.0 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 0.234 |
Household Factors | ||||
Family wealth index | < 0.001 | |||
Poorest | 21.6 | 20.4 | 18.5 | |
Poorer | 25.1 | 21.3 | 22.3 | |
Middle | 23.6 | 19.6 | 18.1 | |
Richer | 19.5 | 18.3 | 19.1 | |
Richest | 10.2 | 20.4 | 22.0 | |
Number of HH members | < 0.001 | |||
1–5 | 55.5 | 53.9 | 55.5 | |
6–10 | 42.6 | 42.8 | 43.0 | |
11 + | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.5 | |
Number of children under the age of 5†† | < 0.001 | |||
1 | 51.7 | 50.8 | 58.4 | |
2 | 40.3 | 40.5 | 35.2 | |
3 + | 8.0 | 8.7 | 6.4 | |
Type of area of residence, Rural | 93.6 | 82.6 | 82.0 | < 0.001 |
Region | < 0.001 | |||
Northern | 14.8 | 8.7 | 11.7 | |
Central | 42.4 | 45.0 | 45.1 | |
Southern | 42.8 | 46.3 | 43.2 | |
Community Factors (Community Health Services) | ||||
Antenatal attendence | 0.084 | |||
Never attended | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | |
< 4 visits (inadequate) | 50.6 | 49.7 | 46.6 | |
≥ 4 visits (recommended) | 47.9 | 49.1 | 51.5 | |
IFA supplementation, Yes | 90.3 | 89.9 | 90.6 | 0.755 |
Received anthelmintic drugs during previous pregnancy, Yes | 41.5 | 38.8 | 47.5 | < 0.001 |
