Table 1 Table of sub-categories, categories and themes

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

Beneficial changes at the individual level

Transformation for betterment

Health literacy

Child’s nutrition and weight

Child’s happiness

Child’s education

Reduction of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs usage

Beneficial changes at the family level

Day-to-day family life and economy

Mothers’ knowledge about parenting

Family happiness

Collective activities—Playhouses, Baby rooms, community activities

Beneficial changes at the community/village or society level

Social connectedness—Children’s societies, Mother supportive groups

Empowerment—carrying out the activities alone, spreading it among new mothers and other villages

Drivers and adaptations for continuation

Sustainability

Future plans- Individual plans, collective goals

Suggestions for improvement

Personal issues of mothers—financial issues, time, lack of motivation

Determinants that hinder the continuation

Group behaviour—Interpersonal issues, conflict of interests among group members

Contextual issues and barriers—social pressure, sabotaging