Table 2.

Description of variables used in the analysis

Variables	Description and categorization
Community level factors
Cluster type	Type of cluster (1 = urban; 2 = rural)
Region/province	Region (1 = Baluchistan; 2 = Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; 3 = Sindh; 4 = Punjab)
Socioeconomic factors
Maternal marital status	Marital status of respondents (1 = currently married; 2 = formerly married including widows, divorced, separated)
Polygynous marriage	Polygynous union (1 = No; 2 = Yes)
Parental education	Maternal and paternal education status (1 = both had secondary and above education; 2 = both were illiterate; 3 = at least one or both with primary education; 4 = father had secondary and above education and mother illiterate; 5 = father had secondary and above education and mother had primary)
Parental occupation	Maternal and paternal employment status (1 = mother without a job outside the home and father employed; 2 = mother and father both employed; 3 = father unemployed)
Household wealth index	Composite index of household amenities (1 = riches; 2 = richer; 3 = middle; 4 = poorer; 5 = poorest)
Fuel used for cooking at home	Fuel used for cooking at home (1 = natural gas/ electricity; 2 = biomass)
Proximate factors
Maternal age at childbirth	Maternal age at childbirth (1 = 20-29 years; 2 = less than 20 years; 3 = 30 years and more)
Baby's gender	Gender of neonate (1 = female; 2 = male)
Birth size	Subjective assessment of the respondent on the birth size (1 = average; 2 = smaller than average; 3 = larger than average)
Birth weight	birth weight of neonate (1 = less than 2500 grams; 2 = 2500-3500 grams; 3 = more than 3500 grams; 4 = not weighed)
Birth rank and birth interval	Birth rank and birth interval of neonate (1 = 2nd or 3rd birth rank, birth interval > 2 years; 2 = 1st birth rank; 3 = 2nd or 3rd birth rank, birth interval ≤ 2 years; 4 = ≥4th birth rank, birth interval > 2 years; 5 = ≥4th birth rank, birth interval ≤2 years)
Desire for pregnancy	Intention to become pregnant (1 = wanted then; 2 = wanted later; 3 = wanted no more)
ANC services by type of providers	ANC services by type of providers (1 = health professionals; 2 = untrained providers; 3 = no services used)
Antenatal iron/folic acid supplements used	Use of iron/folic acid supplements during pregnancy(1 = yes; 2 = no)
Delivery complications	Complications during delivery (1 = none; 2 = prolonged labour; 3 = other)
Delivery assistance	Birth attendance during delivery (1 = health professional; 2 = traditional birth attendant/others)
Mode of delivery	Mode of delivery (1 = non-caesarean; 2 = caesarean section)
Place of delivery	Place of delivery (1 = home; 2 = health facility)
Postnatal care	Postnatal service received by the neonate (1 = no; 2 = yes)

ANC: Antenatal care.