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Table 2 Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding among infants aged 0–5 months by region in India, 2015–16 NFHS

From: Regional prevalence and determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in India

Regions North South East West Central North-East
Study variables aOR (95% CI) P-value aOR (95% CI) P-value aOR (95% CI) P-value aOR (95% CI) P-value aOR (95% CI) P-value aOR (95% CI) P-value
Child factors
 Sex of baby
  Male    Ref.          
  Female    0.75(0.59, 0.95) 0.015         
 Birth order
  First-born Ref.   Ref.   Ref.   Ref.   Ref.   Ref.  
  2nd-4th 0.71(0.60, 0.85) < 0.001 0.56(0.45, 0.70) < 0.001 0.70(0.59, 0.83) < 0.001 0.46(0.34, 0.61) < 0.001 0.80(0.71, 0.91) < 0.001 0.50(0.39, 0.64) < 0.001
  5 or more 0.59(0.42, 0.83) 0.003 0.54(0.16, 1.83) 0.32 0.80(0.60, 1.08) 0.144 0.67(0.34, 1.31) 0.239 0.68(0.54, 0.85) 0.001 0.32(0.21, 0.48) < 0.001
 Perceived size of the baby
  Small    Ref.          
  Average    0.74(0.50, 1.10) 0.137         
  Large    0.53(0.35, 0.80) 0.003         
Maternal factors
 Mother’s education
  No education    Ref.       Ref.   Ref.  
  Primary    1.11(0.66, 1.84) 0.701      1.13(0.96, 1.34) 0.145 1.13(0.96, 1.34) 0.145
  Secondary and higher    0.59(0.41, 0.84) 0.003      1.24(1.07, 1.43) 0.004 1.24(1.07, 1.43) 0.004
 Mother’s religion
  Hindu      Ref.     Ref.    
  Muslim      0.96(0.76, 1.20) 0.703    0.75(0.63, 0.90) 0.001   
  Christianity and others      0.55(0.36, 0.85) 0.006    1.26(0.68, 2.35) 0.459   
 Type of caste or tribe
  Scheduled caste      Ref.   Ref.   Ref.    
  Scheduled tribe      1.47(1.09, 1.99) 0.012 0.76(0.39, 1.48) 0.417 1.82(1.49, 2.22) < 0.001   
  Other backward class      0.82(0.67, 1.00) 0.049 0.85(0.50, 1.43) 0.531 1.00(0.86, 1.17) 0.969   
  Others      0.95(0.73, 1.25) 0.729 0.56(0.32, 0.99) 0.046 0.83(0.68, 1.00) 0.055   
Household factors
 Marital status
  Currently married          Ref.    
  Formerly married (divorced/separated/ widowed)          0.32(0.14, 0.70) 0.004   
 Household wealth index
  Poor          Ref.    
  Middle          0.89(0.77, 1.04) 0.155   
  Rich          0.69(0.59, 0.81) < 0.001   
Health service factors
 Antenatal clinic visits
  None Ref.            
  1–3 1.13(0.87, 1.48) 0.361           
  4+ 1.34(1.02, 1.76) 0.035           
 Type of delivery assistance
  Health professional          Ref.   Ref.  
  Traditional birth attendant          0.83(0.69, 0.99) 0.043 0.73(0.50, 1.06) 0.100
  Other untrained personnel          0.89(0.78, 1.01) 0.071 1.49(1.08, 2.06) 0.016
 Mode of delivery
  Vaginal            Ref.  
  Caesarean section            1.72(1.24, 2.40) 0.001
Community-level factor
 Place of residence
  Urban        Ref.      
  Rural        0.71(0.51, 0.99) 0.045     
  1. Statistically significant (using p-value < 0.05 and confidence intervals) study factors from multivariable models are shown. In the model of child factors, adjustments were made for maternal, household, health service and community factors. A similar approach was used for maternal, household, health service and community factors that adjusted for respective factors in multivariable models. aOR adjusted odds ratio, ref. reference category
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International Breastfeeding Journal

ISSN: 1746-4358