Association between consanguineous marriage and child nutritional outcomes among currently married women in Pakistan

Introduction This study examines the association between blood related marriage and children nutritional health outcomes among currently married women. Methods Using the cross-sectional third round of Pakistan Demographic Health Survey conducted among 11,763 currently married women in 2012–13. The methods of analyses included bi-variate and logistic regression models. Results Nearly two-thirds of the CMW reported blood related marriage also known as consanguineous. Among consanguineous marriages (66% of the sample), 71% are in Sindh region followed by Baluchistan (70%) and Punjab (65%) in Pakistan and it ranges from 72 to 78% among the socioeconomically disadvantageous groups and in rural (71%) area. Multivariate results shows that the risk of child stunting (UOR = 1.52, CI = 1.31–1.67; AOR = 1.24, CI = 1.02–1.51) and child underweight (UOR = 1.59, CI = 1.34–1.89; AOR = 1.31, CI = 1.04–1.63) are higher among consanguineous marriage than non-consanguineous marriage. Conclusion The findings suggest that there is a relationship between consanguineous marriage and under nutrition children including stunting and underweight, even after controlling for other background characteristics of the CMW. Child health interventions for CMW need to provide tailored information on consanguineous marriages related awareness and programme.