Low birth weight among tribal in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey-4

The study aims to investigate the Low Birth Weight (LBW) of newborn infants among the tribal population in India. Study analyses 1,93,345 tribal children aged 0–5 years from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey data (NFHS-4, 2015–16). Logistics regression has been performed to investigate the correlates of low birth weight. Results show that every fifth newborn child among tribal in 165 districts is LBW and total of 232 districts have proportionately higher LBW than the national average (18.2%). Newborns belonging to Scheduled Tribes in Madhya Pradesh (30 districts), Maharashtra (19 districts), Rajasthan (19 districts), Odisha (19 districts), Gujarat (16 districts), Bihar (12 districts), Karnataka (10 districts), West Bengal (9 districts) and Andhra Pradesh (5 districts) – have higher proportion of low birth weight than the national average. Univariate Global Moran's I index shows that 21% of districts have positive auto correlation for the prevalence of LBW among tribals. Mother's age at birth, mother's education, ANC visits and wealth index are important in determining the LBW of a newborn. The prevalence of LBW is higher among tribal population. Mother's education, wealth index, ANC visits, Mother's age at birth are key determinants that need to be addressed to reduce prevalence of LBW among the tribal population. The government needs to focus on marginalized communities with target based intervention and policies.