Maternal and child factors of under-five mortality in India. Findings from NFHS-4

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough under-five mortality has declined in India, the target is yet to be achieved. The objective of this secondary analysis was to find out the influence of maternal and child factors on the likelihood of mortality among under-five children. MethodsThe study is based on Indian National Family Health Survey-4, 2015-16 data. A stratified multistage clustering sampling technique was used. The primary outcome variable of our analysis was under-five deaths that occurred in five years preceding the data collection. ResultsHigher under-five deaths (11.7%) were significantly observed in older maternal age, 45–49 years. For maternal education and place of residence, mothers with no education and rural residence had higher under-five mortality (5.99% and 4.93%, respectively). Mothers who read newspaper/magazines almost every day had lowest under-five deaths (1.99%). Birth order >6 was significantly associated with high under-five mortality (11.0%). ConclusionThe study shows maternal, and child factors are important determinants in under-five mortality in India.