{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T15:54:28Z","timestamp":1789574068049,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]],"date-time":"2022-07-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1657584000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health","award":["K01AI137123"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["K01AI137123"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Theological beliefs play an important role in cultural norms and could impact women\u2019s prenatal and postpartum decisions in South Asia, which has a high burden of disease in children and pregnant women. The aim of this study is to identify any associations religion may have in affecting a woman\u2019s decision-making ability, and how that in turn affects maternal and child health, at a group level in multiple South Asian countries.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Study design<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Cross-sectional study utilizing secondary data analysis.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>We used Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) between 2014 and 2018 in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Not every country\u2019s survey asked about religion, so we imputed these results based on Census data. We assessed maternal and child health through a composite coverage index (CCI), which accounts for family planning, attendance of a skilled attendant at birth, antenatal care, BCG vaccinations, 3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, measles vaccine, oral rehydration therapy, and seeking care if the child has pneumonia. The relationship between religion, women\u2019s empowerment, and CCI was assessed through linear regression models.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The sample included 57,972 mothers who had children aged 12\u201323 months. CCI is observed to be affected by family income, in addition to religion and country. CCI was higher in Hindus (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.4%, 3.1%) and Buddhists (2.0%, 95% CI: 1.2%, 2.9%) than Muslims. Mother\u2019s age, education, income, decision-making autonomy, and attitude towards beatings were all related to CCI. In a model stratified by religion, age, education, and income were significant predictors of CCI for both Muslims and non-Muslims, but were more impactful among Muslims.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec005\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Though multiple imputation had to be used to fill in gaps in religion data, this study demonstrates that maternal and child health outcomes continue to be a concern in South Asia, especially for Muslim women. Given the importance of religious beliefs, utilizing a simple indicator, such as the CCI could be helpful for monitoring these outcomes and provides a tangible first step for communities to address gaps in care resulting from disparities in maternal empowerment.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0271165","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]],"date-time":"2022-07-12T17:24:43Z","timestamp":1657646683000},"page":"e0271165","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":33,"title":["The association of religion with maternal and child health outcomes in South Asian countries"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6364-8627","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Aparna G.","family":"Kachoria","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6983-6047","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mohammad Yousuf","family":"Mubarak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Awnish K.","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rachael","family":"Somers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saleh","family":"Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abram L.","family":"Wagner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0271165.ref001","unstructured":"United Nations. 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