Table 1 Demographic characteristics of the participants
Demographic characteristic | Number (range) |
|---|---|
Average age (years) | 35 (20–52) |
Average number of children | 2 (1–4) |
Average age at marriage (years) | 16 (16–21) |
Social marginalization status | Number (percent) |
General caste (non-marginalized) | 55 (70 %) |
Scheduled caste (SC) (marginalized) | 18 (23 %) |
Scheduled tribe (SC) (marginalized) | 4 (5 %) |
Muslim (marginalized) | 2 (2 %) |
Major livelihood of the mothers | |
Agriculture | 45 (57 %) |
Fishing | 4 (5 %) |
Crab collection | 5 (6 %) |
Daily labour | 5 (7 %) |
Service | 8 (10 %) |
Housewife | 12 (15 %) |
Educational level of mother | |
Primary | 15 (19 %) |
Secondary and above | 51 (65 %) |
Illiterate | 13 (16 %) |