Short birth interval and associated factors in rural India: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Short Birth Interval (SBI) is one of the main causes of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. A 33-month birth-to-birth interval between two successive live births should be followed to minimize the risk of adverse maternal and child health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of SBI and the associated factors in rural India. Information on 98,522 rural mothers from the fourth round of National Family Health Survey data was analyzed. Bivariate statistics, logistic regression, Moran’s I, and Cluster and Outlier Analysis have been used to assess the prevalence and spatial pattern of SBI in rural India. Results revealed that about half of the mothers in rural India had experienced SBI. Rural Indian mothers whose child was not alive (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.63–1.90), were not using any contraceptive methods (OR = 1.42, 95 % CI = 1.37–1.48) and not breastfeeding (OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 2.50–2.97) were more likely to experience SBI. On the other hand, rural mothers from the middle, richer and richest wealth quintiles (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86–0.97; OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.80–0.92; OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.55–0.66) and of age over 30 years (OR = 0.38., 95% CI = 0.36–0.39) were less likely to experience SBI. Analysis of spatial patterns revealed clear east-west differences in the prevalence of SBI. There was strong clustering of high values of SBI in most districts across the central, northern, western, and southern regions. The study suggests the need to introduce appropriate interventions and programs focused on reducing the prevalence of SBI in rural India.

Suboptimal birth spacing practice and its predictors among reproductive-age women in Sub-Saharan African countries: a multilevel mixed-effects modeling with robust Poisson regression

“…Women between the ages of 25 and 34 years had a 31% higher prevalence of suboptimal birth interval than those aged 35 to 49 years, and the risk was increased by about two-fold for younger women (15–24 years). This finding is in agreement with the result of the previous studies that reported older maternal age as a protective factor for short birth spacing [ 12 , 13 , 15 , 16 , 23 , 34 ]. This might be attributed to the fact that younger women have inadequate reproductive knowledge [ 35 ] and limited participation in the decision regarding contraceptive use and therefore more likely to experience closely spaced births than older women [ 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Our analysis revealed that the overall prevalence of suboptimal birth spacing among women in SSA was 43.9% (43.7%-44.1%), with considerable within-country variations from 23.3% in South Africa to 59.3% in Chad. The level of suboptimal birth spacing practice observed in this study is higher than the prevalence reported from the studies conducted in Pakistan (23%) [ 12 ], Bangladesh (26%) [ 13 ], and rural India (50%) [ 16 ] but lower than the finding of systematic review in Ethiopia (47%) [ 14 ], the studies in ten high fertility African countries (59%) [ 17 ], and thirteen SSA countries (56%) [ 18 ]. Variations in the level of suboptimal birth spacing across the studies might be attributed to differences in the population characteristics, religious and sociocultural contexts, access to reproductive health services like contraception and other fertility-related services, and differences in healthcare infrastructure across the settings.…”

“…Previous studies in different settings have reported a varying level of suboptimal birth spacing practice among reproductive-age women. Studies based on single-country data revealed that 23%, 26%, 47%, 49%, and 50% of reproductive-age women in Pakistan [ 12 ], Bangladesh [ 13 ], Ethiopia [ 14 ], Ghana [ 15 ], and rural India [ 16 ] respectively had experienced shorter birth interval. Furthermore, a secondary analysis of demographic and health survey (DHS) data showed that the prevalence of suboptimal birth spacing was 59% in ten high-fertility African countries [ 17 ] and 56% in thirteen Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries [ 18 ].…”

Short Birth Interval and Associated Factors among Women of Reproductive Age in Arba Minch, in Gamo Zone SNNPR Ethiopia: Evidences from Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites

“…The ndings this study were found to be in line with the study conducted in Northwest Ethiopia (12). However, it was lower than the study conducted in Uganda(52.4%), Tanzania (48.4%), rural India (50%), Sub-Saharan Africa (58.7%), and other places of Ethiopia (62.9%) (2,(13)(14)(15)(16)). On the other hand, this nding is higher than studies conducted in Northern Ethiopia(23.3%,) and Bangladesh (26% ) respectively (4,17).…”

Determinants of The First Birth Interval Among Women in India

“…Most Indian studies have focused on predictors of birth interval with limited focus on the interval between marriage and first birth ( 13 – 15 ). Moreover, only a few studies conducted sufficient statistical analyses for time, i.e., survival analysis.…”