Food Allocation Biases towards Pregnant Women in India: Matched Analysis of Intrahousehold Female Pairs

• In Event: 082 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 22. International Economic Sociology III

Abstract

India has exceedingly high rates of maternal malnutrition and mortality, but nutritional inequalities remain under-researched. We utilize round 3 of India’s National Family and Health Survey (2005-2006) to assess nutritional disparities between pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-pregnant or breastfeeding (NPB) women. Using a sub-sample of households matching pregnant and non-pregnant women (n= 5434), we found pregnant women were significantly more likely than NPB women to receive high-protein foods, especially fish (OR=1.55); breastfeeding women were advantaged only in their access to pulses (OR=1.26). Compared to NPB women, pregnant women in economically deprived states are more likely to receive eggs (OR=1.64), while pregnant women in wealthier states were advantaged in their access to fish (OR=1.78), highlighting the importance of existing food aid programs for families below the poverty line.

Authors

• Jasmine Fledderjohann, Oxford University

• Sutapa Agrawal, Public Health Foundation of India

• Sukumar Vellakkal, Public Health Foundation of India

• David Stuckler, Oxford University