Vol.:(0123456789) SN Soc Sci (2023) 3:19 https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00606-w ORIGINAL PAPER Impact of decision‑making autonomy of women on nutritional status of under‑fve children in India: A cross‑sectional study based on the national family health survey Rahul Mallick 1,2  · Pradip Chouhan 2 Received: 27 April 2022 / Accepted: 2 January 2023 / Published online: 14 January 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 Abstract The present study aims to seek how women’s decision-making autonomy infuences the under-fve child nutritional condition in India. The sample population has been collected from the fourth National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Basically, ever married woman with at least one under-fve child has considered as the sample of this study. Here basic household decision-making and freedom of movement of the women have been considered as the main explanatory Variable and under-fve child nutrition (stunted, wasted, under-weight) as the outcome variable. As a part of descriptive statistical analyses cross tabulation was used and for knowing the asso- ciation between the dependent and independent variables binary logistic regression was used. The results revealed that if women participated in family decision mak- ing and freedom to go outside of the house then their children found as less mal- nourished. Women who belong to the higher age group and have higher levels of education have lower risks to have malnourished children. Children from the poor- est households have higher prevalence of malnourished children. So initiatives and approaches should be taken for the enhancement of the autonomy of women. The fndings of this study will surely create a positive impact on the nutritional outcomes of the children. Keywords Women autonomy · Under-fve · Underweight · Stunted · Wasted * Rahul Mallick rahulmallick878@gmail.com Pradip Chouhan pradipchouhanmalda@gmail.com 1 Research Scholar, Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India 2 Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.