Determinants of Child Stunting, Wasting, and Underweight: Evidence from 2017 to 2018 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey

Table 1

Societal, maternal, and child-related characteristics: PDHS (2017-2018).

Variables	Variable attributes	Frequency	Percentage
Child-level characteristics
Child sex	Male	2145	50.8
	Female	2081	49.2
Child age (months)	0–6	548	13
	7–12	405	9.58
	13–24	798	18.9
	25–36	863	20.4
	37–48	853	20.2
	49–60	759	18
Child birth size	Small (<45.7 cm)	725	17.2
	Average (45.7 to 60 cm)	3183	75.3
	Large (>60 cm)	317	7.50
Birth order number	1^st born	1046	24.8
	2^nd–4^th	2137	50.6
	>5	1043	24.7
Postnatal checkup	No	3051	75.5
	Yes	991	24.5
Fresh milk consumption	No	2847	68.3
	Yes	1323	31.7
Consumed formula milk	No	3118	73.8
	Yes	1106	26.3
Breast feeding	No	1804	42.7
	Yes	2422	57.3
Breastfeeding initiation	Instantly	2052	50.7
	Within 1^st hour	958	23.7
	Within 1 day	1040	25.7
Maternal characteristics
Education of mother	No education	2175	51.5
	Primary	579	13.7
	Secondary and higher	1472	34.8
Mother’s age	15–19	122	2.89
	20–34	3273	77.4
	35–49	831	19.7
Maternal BMI	Underweight	461	10.9
	Normal	1719	40.7
	Overweight and obese	2046	48.4
Mother’s employment	Not employed	3575	84.6
	Employed	651	15.4
Iron tablets’ consumption during pregnancy	No	1583	37.5
	Yes	2635	62.5
Cigarette smoking	No	3079	92.6
	Yes	245	7.4
Socioeconomics characteristics
Geographical area	Punjab	906	21.4
	Sindh	806	19.1
	KPK	702	16.6
	Baluchistan	513	12.1
	GB	278	6.58
	ICT	234	5.54
	AJK	436	10.3
	FATA	351	8.3
Type of residence	Urbanicity	1826	43.2
	Rurality	2400	56.8
Toilet facility	No facility	482	11.4
	Not improved	502	11.9
	Improved	3242	76.7
Economic status	Poor	1956	46.3
	Middle	805	19.0
	Rich	1465	34.7
Father’s education	No education	1157	27.4
	Primary	620	14.7
	Secondary and higher	2397	56.7
Water source	Unimproved	616	14.6
	Improved	3610	85.4

KPK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; GB, Gilgit Baltistan; ICT, Islamabad Capital Territory; AJK, Azad Jammu and Kashmir; FATA, Federally Administered Tribal Area.