The Role of Maternal Care Services on Feeding Practices Among Under Five Children in India, Nepal and Bangladesh

Abstract

In South Asia, one in two children under the age of five are stunted or wasted due to malnutrition, which affects one in three children globally. There are close linkages between maternal health care services and child feeding practices which needs to be investigated. Materials and Method The present study analyzed two rounds of Demographic Health Surveys cross-sectional data carried out between year 2005 and 2016 in three selected South Asian countries viz. India, Nepal, and Bangladesh respectively. This study is based on children under 5 years of age which are nested within mothers aged 15–49 years. Inferential statistical analysis like Chi-square was used to test the association, and regression model was used to analyze the effect of mother’s Maternal and Child Health care services utilization on the child’s feeding score after controlling for socio-economic and demographic factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of utilization of maternal care services on child feeding practices in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Results Our result shows that mother's secondary or higher level of education, more than four-antenatal care visits, and deliverying in a health facility was associated with a higher chance of child feeding practices. Multivariate linear regression revealed that education, antenatal care visits, and postnatal care visits had positive and significant effect on child feeding, while mothers who were 15–19 years of age were less likely to feed child. The results from this analysis imply that there are various regional and national influences on the determination of mothers’ practices on child feeding. Furthermore, there are other factors that indicate that mother’s practices are influenced by situational and time factors. Conclusion Overall, with multiple maternal and child health care contacts with the health system, there is an opportunity to promote child feeding practices. The study results are critical and emphasises the need for making strategies and policies for better nutritional outcome and child feeding practices. Disadvantaged women in terms of education, antenatal care, birth at a health institution, and postnatal visits must be targeted to improve child feeding practices.