Neonatal mortality defined as a death during the first 28 days of life and is the most critical phase of child survival. In spite of the strong evidence supporting immediate and long term health benefits of timely initiation of breastfeeding in India, only two-fifths (44%) of children receive breastfeeding within 1 h of birth. This study aims to examine the role of a behavioral factor i.e., timing of initiation of breastfeeding on neonatal deaths. Data from India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011–12, a nationally representative, large scale population-based dataset has been used. Sample Registration System (SRS) has been used to examine the rate of change in Neonatal Mortality Rates from the year 2011 to 2015. District Level Household & Facility Survey (DLHS-4), 2012–2013 and Annual Health Survey(AHS), 2012–13 data have been used to show the district wise distribution of women who have breastfed their child within 1 h of birth. Population Attributable fraction has been computed using binary logistic regression model for various scenarios of breastfeeding within first hour of birth. Less than one fourth (21%) of children were breastfed within 1 h of birth across the different districts of India, which varies from the lowest 15% in Sarasvati of Uttar Pradesh state to the highest 94.6% in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala state. Findings suggest when women did not breastfeed their newborn within the 1 h after his birth, the odds of neonatal deaths were increased by nearly threefold (OR 2.93; 95% CI 1.89, 4.53) in comparison with those neonates who have breastfed within 1 h of birth. Population Attributable Risk estimates that the risk of the neonatal deaths could be reduced to a maximum of 15% when all babies would expose to early breastfeeding from the present level of breastfeeding. We found that timely initiation of breastfeeding is beneficial for child survival within the first 28 days of birth, including all causes of mortality. Therefore, efforts in formulating an effective policy focusing on early initiation of breastfeeding are needed.

In India, while the total fertility rate has been declined from 3.39 in 1992–93 to 2.68 in 2005–06, the prevalence of unintended pregnancy is still stagnant over the same period. A review of existing literature shows that within the country, there are variations in fertility preferences between different regions. Also there is a strong argument that the availability of a health facility at the village level plays an important role in reshaping the fertility behavior of women. Keeping in mind the fact that there is no information at the village level (which is the lowest geographical boundary) in the recent round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), the specific objective of this study is to examine the impact of individual and household level variables on unwanted pregnancies without controlling the village level variation. Further, once the village level variation (i.e. unobserved variation) has been controlled, it is necessary to study whether there has been any alteration in the contribution of factors from earlier results of without adjusting the village level variation.

Aim: Recent National Family Health Survey results portray striking improvements in most population and health indicators, including fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, gender treatment, household environments, and health insurance coverage of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), with all India resonance. However, the prevalence of any anaemia (< 11 g/dl) among children under age five has exhibited a reversed trajectory in recent years. Therefore, the present study explores key drivers of the reversal of the trend in the prevalence of childhood anaemia between 2015 and2021.Methods: Data of four rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) were used to show the overall trend of anaemia among children. However, for the analysis of key drivers of the reversal trend of childhood anaemia, only the recent two rounds (NFHS-4 & NFHS-5) were used. Descriptive, bivariate multivariable analysis and Fairlie decomposition model were used to explore the drivers of the reversal of the trend in childhood anaemia.Results: During the past two decades, India has seen a decline in the prevalence of childhood anaemia (NFHS-2 to NFHS-4). However, a reversal of trend was observed recently. The prevalence of anaemia among children aged 6–59 months increased from 59 percent in NFHS-4 to 67 percent in NFHS-5. In addition, the prevalence of mild anaemia increased from 23.3 percent in NFHS-2 to 28.7 percent in NFHS-5. However, the prevalence of moderate and severe anaemia declined considerably from NFHS-2 (40 percent and 4.1 percent) to NFHS-4 (28.7 percent and 1.6 percent), but showed an increase in the prevalence in NFHS-5 (36.3 percent and 2.2 percent). Among others, mothers’ educational attainment, anaemia status and socio-economic status emerge as the key drivers of the change in the prevalence of childhood anaemia.Conclusion: These findings may have vital implications for the ongoing Anaemia Mukt Bharat Programme, one of the government's dream projects in India.

In India, sterilisation is the most frequent method of modern contraception, and is primarily used by women. The contemporaneous assessment of sterilisation literature focuses only on trends and patterns that are limited to socioeconomic considerations, ignoring the cohort and period issues. No study has employed Age Period Cohort (APC) analysis to highlight the effect of APC on a particular outcome to yet. We have used maximum entropy method modelling to analyse the individual influence of APC on female sterilisation in India using the four rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). While the older group had higher sterilisation rates than the younger cohort, the age effects were found to have a standard inverted U-shaped curve, with women sterilising in their mid-30s as the might have completed their desire family size. The analysis found high rural-urban differentials in utilising female sterilisation, highlighting the relevance of education and empowerment in contraceptive decision-making among the educated one. Female sterilisation has become less common among Muslims in India over time, and among uneducated women, and it has shifted to later ages with each succeeding period. This was determined to be concerning in terms of India's future fertility. Since 1947, the government has implemented numerous policies to provide women with a variety of contraceptive options; however, the dominance of female sterilisation throughout all periods demonstrates that the government's efforts to provide temporary methods were futile.

Objective This study aims to identify the unique multimorbidity combinations (MMCs) and their associations with the functional disability of Indian older adults. Moreover, the population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated to assess the potential impact of additional diseases in the nested groups on disability. Design A cross-sectional data were analysed in this study. Setting and participants The present study uses data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017–2018). The sample for the study consists of 27 753 aged 60 years and over. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome variable was functional disability, measured by the combined activities of daily living (ADL)-instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) index. Results Out of 197 uniquely identified MMCs, the combination of hypertension and high depressive symptoms (HDS) was the most prevalent (10.3%). Overall, all MMCs were associated with increased functional limitation. Specifically, the combination of hypertension, arthritis and HDS was associated with greater ADL-IADL disability than any other MMC. The addition of HDS in group 3 (hypertension and arthritis) (incidence rate ratios (IRR)=1.44; 95% CI 1.26 to 1.64) and the addition of arthritis in group 1 (hypertension, HDS) (IRR=1.48; 95% CI 1.28 to 1.71) and group 2 (hypertension, diabetes) (IRR=1.49; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.82) significantly increases the rates of ADL-IADL disability. The estimated PAFs of the group 1 (hypertension and HDS), group 3 (hypertension and arthritis) and group 4 (arthritis and HDS) for ADL-IADL disability were 22.5% (19.2–25.5), 21.6% (18.7–24.4) and 23.5% (20.6–26.3), respectively. Conclusion The findings from this study underscore the importance of addressing the morbidity combinations which are more disabling than the others in older adults. Understanding the somatic and psychological relevance of the morbidities in functional health is necessary and can help reduce disabilities among older adults.