Table 1

First-day neonatal mortality, early neonatal mortality and small birth size infants by maternal characteristics in Bangladesh: BDHS 1996–2014

PredictorsFirst-day neonatal mortality
(n=21 382)
n (%)
Early neonatal mortality
(n=21 382)
n (%)
Small birth size
(n=11 022)
n (%)
n=115n=274n=2002
Preceding birth interval in months
 <3649 (45.2)122 (45.2)698 (34.6)
 36–5922 (18.8)70 (26.2)610 (31.2)
 ≥6044 (36.0)82 (28.6)694 (34.2)
Mother’s age at childbirth (years)
 ≤1920 (21.1)40 (16.2)218 (10.7)
 20–3482 (67.5)200 (71.5)1599 (80.0)
 ≥3513 (11.4)34 (12.3)185 (9.3)
Birth order
 2–373 (63.3)163 (60.0)1322 (65.8)
 ≥442 (36.7)111 (40.0)680 (34.2)
Maternal education
 None40 (36.4)116 (42.0)751 (38.3)
 Primary41 (33.7)84 (30.6)618 (29.0)
 Secondary or higher34 (29.9)74 (27.4)633 (32.7)
Wealth index
 Poorest quintile24 (19.6)71 (23.5)428 (19.6)
 Second quintile24 (21.6)63 (24.0)394 (19.8)
 Middle quintile24 (19.5)57 (22.2)389 (19.4)
 Fourth quintile20 (20.2)35 (13.5)388 (20.7)
 Richest quintile23 (19.1)48 (16.8)403 (20.5)
Employment status
 Currently working34 (32.1)70 (28.0)339 (18.0)
 Not working81 (67.9)204 (72.0)1663 (82.0)
Area of residence
 Urban35 (20.8)81 (19.0)557 (20.1)
 Rural80 (79.2)193 (81.0)1445 (79.9)
Maternal BMI
 Underweight27 (23.1)83 (29.3)711 (35.3)
 Average67 (59.2)156 (58.4)1069 (54.5)
 Overweight16 (13.1)26 (9.3)169 (7.9)
 Obese5 (4.6)9 (3.0)53 (2.3)
Maternal desire of pregnancy
 Yes77 (63.3)171 (63.5)1205 (60.1)
 No38 (36.7)103 (36.5)797 (39.9)
Ever use of contraception
 Yes81 (72.9)196 (71.9)1605 (81.1)
 No34 (27.1)78 (28.1)397 (18.9)
No. of ANC visits
 None48 (43.1)146 (55.2)998 (51.4)
 1–346 (40.7)90 (32.0)683 (33.7)
 ≥421 (16.2)38 (12.8)321 (14.9)
ANC by SBA
 Yes56 (47.3)111 (38.6)817 (38.8)
 No59 (52.7)163 (61.4)1185 (61.2)
History of any previous pregnancy loss
 Yes35 (26.3)79 (26.2)435 (21.4)
 No80 (73.7)195 (73.8)1567 (78.6)
Sex of infant
 Male74 (64.1)162 (58.0)943 (44.9)
 Female41 (35.9)112 (42.0)1059 (55.1)
Region
 Barisal10 (4.2)28 (5.5)176 (4.7)
 Chittagong12 (10.1)40 (13.9)463 (25.4)
 Khulna10 (8.2)27 (9.0)232 (8.6)
 Rajshahi27 (25.1)50 (20.9)227 (13.2)
 Rangpur15 (8.0)47 (10.7)235 (8.2)
 Sylhet10 (3.5)18 (3.5)281 (7.1)
 Dhaka31 (40.9)64 (36.5)388 (32.8)
Year of survey
 199616 (14.0)45 (15.8)
 199913 (10.7)45 (15.8)705 (34.2)
 200422 (20.1)55 (21.2)
 200719 (17.9)37 (13.6)
 201129 (24.1)59 (21.5)813 (40.1)
 201416 (13.2)33 (12.1)484 (25.7)
  • ANC, antenatal care; BDHS, Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys; BMI, body mass index; SBA, skilled birth attendants.