Table 1.
Characteristics of mothers and infants by maternal parity*
| Characteristics | Mothers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All mothers (n = 1359) | Parity 0 (n = 759) | Parity 1 (n = 600) | P‐value † | |
| Age (years) | 18.8 (2.6) | 17.9 (2.4) | 20.1 (2.3) | <0.001 |
| Supplement group (%) | ||||
| Control | 19.9 | 20.6 | 19.0 | 0.164 |
| Folic acid | 19.0 | 20.4 | 17.2 | |
| Folic acid–iron | 20.5 | 18.6 | 23.0 | |
| Folic acid–iron–zinc | 20.5 | 19.6 | 21.7 | |
| Multiple micronutrient | 20.1 | 20.8 | 19.2 | |
| Ethnicity (%) | ||||
| Pahadi | 39.6 | 45.9 | 31.7 | <0.001 |
| Madeshi | 60.4 | 54.2 | 68.3 | |
| Caste (%) | ||||
| Brahmin | 9.9 | 12.0 | 7.3 | 0.001 |
| Chhetri | 11.0 | 12.7 | 8.8 | |
| Vaiysha | 63.1 | 60.2 | 66.7 | |
| Shudra | 11.1 | 11.3 | 10.8 | |
| Non‐Hindu | 5.0 | 3.8 | 6.3 | |
| Smoking (%) | 23.5 | 22.8 | 24.3 | 0.537 |
| Literacy (%) | 33.0 | 39.5 | 24.8 | <0.001 |
| Land ownership (hectares) | 0.9 (1.6) | 1.0 (1.6) | 0.8 (1.6) | 0.058 |
| Height (cm) | 150.7 (5.5) | 150.9 (5.4) | 150.5 (5.7) | 0.158 |
| Weight (kg) | 44.6 (5.5) | 45.6 (5.4) | 43.4 (5.4) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (BMI; kg m−2) | 19.6 (2.0) | 20.0 (2.0) | 19.2 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| Mid‐upper arm circumference (cm) | 22.2 (1.8) | 22.4 (1.8) | 21.8 (1.8) | <0.001 |
| Thin (% with BMI < 18.5) | 27.9 | 20.8 | 36.8 | <0.001 |
| Infants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All infants | Parity 0 | Parity 1 | P‐value † | |
| Sex (% male) | 52.0 | 52.0 | 51.8 | 0.938 |
| Age at the time of birth measurements (days) | 0.10 (0.37) | 0.13 (0.43) | 0.06 (0.29) | 0.002 |
| Birthweight (g) | 2573 (417) | 2534 (407) | 2623 (426) | <0.001 |
| Birth length (cm) | 47.11 (2.38) | 46.97 (2.46) | 47.28 (2.27) | 0.019 |
| Head circumference (cm) | 32.51 (1.47) | 32.42 (1.46) | 32.62 (1.47) | 0.011 |
| Chest circumference (cm) | 30.31 (1.90) | 30.14 (1.85) | 30.52 (1.94) | <0.001 |
| Ponderal index (kg m−3) | 24.42 (2.40) | 24.26 (2.30) | 24.62 (2.49) | 0.010 |
| Low birthweight (<2500 g) (%) | 43.2 | 47.0 | 38.3 | 0.001 |
| Small for gestational age (%) | 62.8 | 66.4 | 58.3 | 0.001 |
| Preterm (<37 weeks) (%) | 18.2 | 18.7 | 17.5 | 0.562 |
*
Estimates represent mean (SD) for continuous variables and percentage for categorical variables.
†
P‐values were calculated using linear regression for continuous variables and logistic regression for categorical variables using a robust estimation of the variance.