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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Does maternal autonomy influence feeding practices and infant growth in rural India?
Social Science and Medicine, Volume 73, No. 3, Year 2011
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Description
The high prevalence of child under-nutrition remains a profound challenge in the developing world. Maternal autonomy was examined as a determinant of breast feeding and infant growth in children 3-5 months of age. Cross-sectional baseline data on 600 mother-infant pairs were collected in 60 villages in rural Andhra Pradesh, India. The mothers were enrolled in a longitudinal randomized behavioral intervention trial. In addition to anthropometric and demographic measures, an autonomy questionnaire was administered to measure different dimensions of autonomy (e.g. decision-making, freedom of movement, financial autonomy, and acceptance of domestic violence). We conducted confirmatory factor analysis on maternal autonomy items and regression analyses on infant breast feeding and growth after adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic variables, and accounting for infant birth weight, infant morbidity, and maternal nutritional status. Results indicated that mothers with higher financial autonomy were more likely to breastfeed 3-5 month old infants. Mothers with higher participation in decision-making in households had infants that were less underweight and less wasted. These results suggest that improving maternal financial and decision-making autonomy could have a positive impact on infant feeding and growth outcomes. © 2011.
Authors & Co-Authors
Griffiths, Paula Louise
United Kingdom, Loughborough
Loughborough University
Suchindran, Chirayath M.
United States, Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Balakrishna, Nagalla
India, Hyderabad
National Institute of Nutrition India
Bentley, Margaret E.
United States, Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Statistics
Citations: 136
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.040
ISSN:
18735347
Research Areas
Food Security
Maternal And Child Health
Violence And Injury
Study Design
Randomised Control Trial
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study