Maternal Underweight

Maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy is recognized as being an important factor for the survival and health of the offspring as well as the mother¹. It can contribute to about 20% of stunting in the first 2 years of the child’s life, as well as 20% of maternal deaths at delivery². Research has suggested that children of underweight mothers may also have impaired intellectual development.

Source: 1) Ramakrishnan, U., Grant, F., Goldenberg, T., Zongrone, A. & Martorell, R. Effect of women’s nutrition before and during early pregnancy on maternal and infant outcomes: a systematic review. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology 26, 285–301 (2012)
2) Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, et al.. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 2013;382:427–451. 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X

Maternal Underweight by Equity Quintile

From 2017 to 2022, the prevalence of maternal underweight in the lowest equity quintile increased by 3 percentage points. In contrast, there was a decrease of 3 percentage points in the highest equity quintile. Consequently, during this period, the gap between the two quintiles widened, indicating a growing disparity in the prevalence of maternal underweight between the two socioeconomic groups.

Maternal Underweight by Caste/Ethnicity

From 2017 to 2022, Brahmin and Chhetri communities decreased the prevelance of maternal underweight faster than the marginalized communities. As maternal underweight was higher among Brahmin and Chhetri in 2017, there was a slight narrowing of the gap between these two groups.

Maternal Underweight by Agro-Ecological Zones

Between 2017 and 2022, the terai region showed a greater reduction in maternal underweight by 4 percentage points, while the mountain and hill regions decreased by 2 percentage points. However, the mountain and hill regions had lower prevalence rates to begin with. As a result, despite making progress, the terai region still has a considerable gap to close to reach the same level as the mountain and hill regions.

42%

2017

26%

2022

15 percentage point decrease in the prevalence of anemia among women who gave birth in the last three years

35%

2017

45%

2022

10 percentage points increase in maternal minimum dietary diversity among mother of children under two

8%

2017

30%

2022

22 percentage point increase in the number of households, with a homestead garden that met the minimum criteria set by Suaahara