Baseline characteristics of parents and children
| Maternal characteristics | Total (n=180) n (%) | SGA (n=90) n (%) | AGA (n=90) n (%) | P value |
| Age of mother (years), mean±SD | 26.7 (5.5) | 26.4 (6.1) | 26.9 (4.9) | 0.46 |
| Education of mother | 0.92 | |||
| No formal education | 101 (56.1) | 51 (56.7) | 50 (55.6) | |
| Primary | 32 (17.8) | 15 (16.7) | 17 (18.9) | |
| Secondary | 47 (26.1) | 24 (26.7) | 23 (25.5) | |
| Occupation of mother | 0.65 | |||
| Employed | 5 (2.8) | 3 (3.3) | 2 (2.2) | |
| Unemployed | 175 (97.2) | 87 (96.7) | 88 (97.8) | |
| Ever sniffed/chewed tobacco | 0.63 | |||
| Currently sniffing/chewing | 57 (31.7) | 27 (30) | 30 (33.3) | |
| Never | 123 (68.3) | 63 (70) | 60 (66.6) | |
| Ever chewed betel nut | 0.18 | |||
| Currently sniffing/chewing | 77 (42.8) | 34 (38) | 43 (48) | |
| Never | 103 (57.2) | 56 (62) | 47 (52) | |
| Parity, median (range) | 2 (1–16) | 2 (1–7) | 3 (1–16) | <0.001 |
| Parity | 0.008 | |||
| Primary parous | 50 (27.8) | 33 (37) | 17 (19) | |
| Multiparous | 130 (72.2) | 57 (63) | 73 (81) | |
| Antenatal care from a skilled care provider | 0.41 | |||
| Yes | 129 (71.7) | 67 (74.4) | 62 (68.9) | |
| No | 51 (28.3) | 23 (25.6) | 28 (31.1) | |
| MUAC | 0.48 | |||
| Normal (≥23) | 138 (76.7) | 67 (74.4) | 71 (78.9) | |
| Malnutrition (<23) | 42 (23.3) | 23 (25.6) | 19 (21.1) | |
| Anaemia status (defined as Hb <11 g/dL) | 0.22 | |||
| No | 28 (15.6) | 11 (12.2) | 17 (18.9) | |
| Yes | 152 (84.5) | 79 (87.8) | 73 (81.2) | |
| Pregnancy complications* | 0.12 | |||
| Yes | 64 (35.6) | 37 (41) | 27 (30) | |
| No | 116 (64.4) | 53 (59) | 63 (70) | |
| Delivery assisted by | 0.27 | |||
| Skilled birth attendant | 142 (78.9) | 74 (82.2) | 68 (75.5) | |
| Unskilled birth attendant | 38 (21.1) | 16 (17.8) | 22 (24.4) | |
| Mode of delivery | 0.84 | |||
| Spontaneous vaginal delivery | 151 (83.9) | 76 (84.4) | 75 (83.3) | |
| Caesarean section | 29 (16.1) | 14 (15.6) | 15 (16.7) | |
| Place of birth of child | 0.17 | |||
| Facility | 136 (75.6) | 72 (80) | 64 (71) | |
| Home | 44 (24.4) | 18 (20) | 26 (29) | |
| Paternal characteristics | ||||
| Education of father | 0.94 | |||
| No formal education | 105 (58) | 52 (57.8) | 53 (58.9) | |
| Primary | 19 (11) | 9 (10) | 10 (11.1) | |
| Secondary | 56 (31) | 29 (32.3) | 27 (30) | |
| Occupation of father | 0.25 | |||
| Employed | 159 (88.3) | 77 (85.5) | 82 (91) | |
| Unemployed | 21 (11.7) | 13 (14.4) | 8 (8.9) | |
| Child characteristics | ||||
| Gender | 0.76 | |||
| Male | 102 (56.7) | 50 (55.6) | 52 (57.8) | |
| Female | 78 (43.3) | 40 (44.4) | 38 (42.2) | |
| Birth weight (kg), mean±SD | 2.7 (0.5) | 2.4 (0.4) | 3.0 (0.5) | <0.001 |
| Gestational age | 0.004 | |||
| Preterm (<37 weeks) | 33 (18.3) | 9 (10) | 24 (27) | |
| Term (≥37 weeks) | 147 (81.7) | 81 (90) | 66 (73) | |
| Current age (years), mean±SD | 2.7 (0.2) | 2.7 (0.2) | 2.7 (0.2) | 0.44 |
| Current weight (kg), mean±SD | 10.9 (1.4) | 10.45 (1.2) | 11.5 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| Malnutrition status | ||||
| Stunting | 88 (48.9) | 49 (54) | 39 (43) | 0.14 |
| Wasting | 18 (10.0) | 13 (14.4) | 5 (5.6) | 0.047 |
| Underweight | 77 (42.8) | 49 (54) | 28 (31) | 0.002 |
*Pregnancy complications include the presence of any one of the conditions: vaginal bleeding, pregnancy-induced hypertension, diabetes, convulsions and overnight stay in facility due to fever.
AGA, appropriate for gestational age; MAUC, maternal midupper arm circumference; SGA, small for gestational age.