Table 2 Maternal and child nutrition-related characteristics in South Ari District, Southern Ethiopia, 2021 (N = 717)

ANC follow-up

No

30

4.2

1–3

116

16.2

 ≥ 4

571

79.6

Place of delivery

Home

63

8.8

Health institution

654

91.2

Maternal autonomy

Low autonomy

101

14.1

High autonomy

616

85.9

Maternal knowledge of child feeding practice

Sufficient

613

85.5

Insufficient

104

14.5

Maternal dietary diversity score (DDS)

High DDS

532

74.2

Low DDS

185

25.8

Cough in the past two weeks

Yes

136

19.0

No

581

81.0

Diarrhea in the past two weeks

Yes

128

17.9

No

589

82.1

Fever in the past two weeks

Yes

112

15.6

No

605

84.4

Early initiation of breastfeeding

Yes

660

92.1

No

57

7.9

Colostrum feeding

Yes

684

95.4

No

33

4.6

Pre-lacteal feeding

Yes

118

16.5

No

599

83.5

Non-exclusive breastfeeding

Yes

200

27.9

No

517

72.1

Currently on breastfeeding

Yes

238

33.2

No

479

66.8

Age at initiation of complementary feeding (n = 716)

Before 6 months

48

6.7

At 6 months

556

77.7

After 6 month

112

15.6

Materials used for feeding (n = 716)

Bottle

351

49.0

Cup

181

25.3

Spoon

135

18.9

Others

49

6.8

Immunization status

Vaccinated

659

91.9

Unvaccinated

58

8.1

Birth interval

 < 24 months

333

46.4

 ≥ 24 months

384

53.6

Birth order

First

220

30.7

2–3

304

42.4

4 and above

193

26.9

Child dietary diversity score (DDS)

Optimal

410

57.2

Sub-optimal

307

42.8