Characteristics of mothers at baseline, by arm
| Delayed arm | Early arm | All | |
| Mothers, N | 5370 | 4881 | 10 251 |
| District, n (%) | 1854 (38.0) | – | |
| Ranchi | – | 1583 (32.4) | – |
| West Singhbhum | – | 1444 (29.6) | – |
| Khunti | – | – | – |
| Bokaro | 832 (15.5) | – | – |
| Dumka | 2933 (54.6) | – | – |
| Palamu | 1605 (29.9) | ||
| Maternal age, mean (SD) | 24.6 (8.1) | 25.4 (7.1) | |
| Caste/tribe distribution, n (%) | |||
| Scheduled Tribe | 2632 (49.0) | 2908 (59.6) | 5540 (54.1) |
| Scheduled Class | 636 (11.8) | 352 (7.2) | 988 (9.6) |
| Other Backward Class | 1997 (37.2) | 1573 (32.2) | 3570 (34.8) |
| Other | 105 (2.0) | 48 (1.0) | 153 (1.5) |
| Asset wealth, n (%) | |||
| First (poorest) wealth quintile | 1221 (22.7) | 860 (17.6) | 2081 (20.3) |
| Second | 1207 (22.5) | 834 (17.1) | 2041 (19.9) |
| Third | 1188 (22.1) | 845 (17.3) | 2033 (19.8) |
| Fourth | 1035 (19.3) | 1020 (20.9) | 2055 (20.1) |
| Fifth (richest) wealth quintile | 719 (13.4) | 1322 (27.1) | 2041 (19.9) |
| Maternal literacy, n (%) | |||
| Can read | 1941 (36.1) | 2065 (42.3) | 4006 (39.1) |
| Can read with difficulty | 1372 (25.6) | 1048 (21.5) | 2420 (23.6) |
| Cannot read | 2032 (37.8) | 1752 (35.9) | 3784 (37.0) |
| Maternal schooling, n (%) | |||
| Has not attended school | 1559 (29.0) | 1463 (30.0) | 3022 (29.5) |
| Primary education | 1668 (31.1) | 1079 (22.1) | 2747 (26.8) |
| Secondary education or higher | 2118 (39.4) | 2323 (47.6) | 4441 (43.3) |
| Deprivation, n (%) | |||
| Most deprived* | 1922 (35.8) | 1448 (29.7) | 3370 (32.9) |
| Less deprived | 3434 (63.9) | 3423 (70.1) | 6857 (66.9) |
*Mothers who cannot read or can only read with difficulty and belong to the two poorest wealth quintiles.