Two Level Logistic Regression Model of Factors Influencing in Early Childbearing and its Consequences on Nutritional Status of Bangladeshi Mothers: Nationally Representative Data

Background: Early marriage and early pregnancy is a social as well as a medical problem in developing countries, which may have an impact on the health and nutritional status of teenage mothers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influencing factors of early childbearing (ECB) and its consequences on the nutritional status of Bangladeshi mothers. Methods: Data was extracted from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-2014). Women who delivered their first baby before the age of 20 years are considered ECB mothers. Nutritional status was measured by body mass index (BMI). Chi-square test and both univariable and multivariable logistic regressions, and z-proportional test were used in this study. Results: The prevalence of ECB among currently non-pregnant mothers in Bangladesh was 83%. The logistic regression model provided the following six risk factors of ECB: (i) living location (division) (p<0.01), (ii) respondents’ education (p<0.05), (iii) husbands’ education (p<0.05), (iv) household wealth quintiles (p<0.01), (v) respondents’ age at first marriage (p<0.05), and (vi) number of family members (p<0.05). Still, 17.6% of mothers were undernourished in Bangladesh; among them, 18.5% and 13.4% were ECB and non- ECB mothers respectively. ECB mothers had a greater risk to be undernourished than non-ECB mothers [COR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.11-1.43; p<0.01]. Conclusions: In this study, some modifiable factors were found as predictors of ECB in Bangladesh. ECB mothers were more prone to become under-nourished. These findings can be considered to reduce the number of ECB mothers in Bangladesh consequently improve their nutritional status.