scholarly journals Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018

Author(s):  
Samuel Scott ◽  
Phuong Hong Nguyen ◽  
Sumanta Neupane ◽  
Priyanjana Pramanik ◽  
Priya Nanda ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Blystad ◽  
Karen Marie Moland ◽  
Ecloss Munsaka ◽  
Ingvild Sandøy ◽  
Joseph Zulu

Abstract Background Adolescent pregnancy is a complex socio-economic phenomenon ranking high on the global health policy agenda. Early childbearing is associated with early marriage and school drop-out, and is defined as a problem to the health and development of girls. This paper reports from formative research. The formative research aimed to explore socio-cultural and structural dynamics at work behind early pregnancy and school drop out in rural Zambia. The study findings have been used to inform a school based intervention to reduce early pregnancy (RISE: ‘Research Initiative to Support the Empowerment of Girls’). Theoretically the study is informed by social constructionism. Methods A qualitative approach was employed. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (61) and focus group discussions (7) were carried out with girls (in and out of school), boys, parents, teachers, health workers and community- and district leaders in 2014–15. Systematic text condensation was drawn upon in the analysis of the material. Results The study findings indicate that the official Zambian discourse that presents early pregnancy as a serious challenge and schooling as the prime way to confront the problem enjoy substantial support at community levels. However, a parallel discourse on fertility, early marriage and childbearing as social and economic security surfaced and was articulated by the same study participants. The latter contrasting discourse questioned schooling as the only solution to secure a girl’s future arguing that there are many reasons why early pregnancy may emerge as rational. Conclusions Grasping the complexity of local discourse is vital in planning health interventions. The present study revealed that although delayed child bearing and schooling among girls enjoyed high status and legitimacy in the study area, the social and economic context worked to reward early marriage. Interventions to reduce early pregnancies in rural Zambian communities need to fundamentally address the material constraints that condition and reinforce a culture of early childbearing.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khirujjaman Sumon ◽  
Md. Abu Sayem ◽  
Abu Sayed Md Al Ma ◽  
Premananda Bharati ◽  
Suman Chakrabarty ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Early marriage and early pregnancy is a social as well as medical problem in developing countries, which may have an impact on health and nutritional status of teenage mothers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influencing factors of early childbearing (ECB) and its consequences on nutritional status of Bangladeshi mothers. Methods: Data was extracted from the last survey of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-2014). Women who delivered their first baby before their age 20 years are considered as ECB mothers. Nutritional status was measured by body mass index (BMI) which was categorized as (i) under nutrition (BMI<18.5 kg/m2), (ii) normal (18.5≤BMI<25 kg/m2) and (iii) over nutrition BMI≥25 kg/m2). Chi-square test and both univariable and multivariable logistic regressions, and z-proportional test were used in this study. Results: This study revealed that the prevalence of ECB among currently non-pregnant mothers in Bangladesh was 83% (urban: 77% and rural: 85.8%). A multivariable binary logistic regression model provided the following six risk factors of ECB: (i) living location (division), (ii) respondents’ education, (iii) husbands’ education, (iv) household wealth quintiles, (v) respondents’ age at first marriage, and (vi) number of family members. Still 17.6% mothers were undernourished in Bangladesh; among them 18.5% and 13.4% were ECB and non- ECB mothers respectively, while 25.5% mothers were over nourished. Univariable model demonstrated that ECB mothers had a greater risk to be undernourished than non-ECB mothers [COR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.11-1.43; p<0.01]. Conclusions: In this study, some modifiable factors were found as predictors of ECB in Bangladesh. ECB mothers were more prone to become under-nourished. These findings can be considered to reduce the number of ECB mothers in Bangladesh consequently to improve their nutritional status.


Author(s):  
Khirujjaman Sumon ◽  
Md. Abu Sayem ◽  
Abu Sayed Md. Al Mamun ◽  
Premananda Bharati ◽  
Suman Chakrabarty ◽  
...  

Background: Early marriage and early pregnancy is a social as well as a medical problem in developing countries, which may have an impact on the health and nutritional status of teenage mothers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influencing factors of early childbearing (ECB) and its consequences on the nutritional status of Bangladeshi mothers. Methods: Data was extracted from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-2014). Women who delivered their first baby before the age of 20 years are considered ECB mothers. Nutritional status was measured by body mass index (BMI). Chi-square test and both univariable and multivariable logistic regressions, and z-proportional test were used in this study. Results: The prevalence of ECB among currently non-pregnant mothers in Bangladesh was 83%. The logistic regression model provided the following six risk factors of ECB: (i) living location (division) (p<0.01), (ii) respondents’ education (p<0.05), (iii) husbands’ education (p<0.05), (iv) household wealth quintiles (p<0.01), (v) respondents’ age at first marriage (p<0.05), and (vi) number of family members (p<0.05). Still, 17.6% of mothers were undernourished in Bangladesh; among them, 18.5% and 13.4% were ECB and non- ECB mothers respectively. ECB mothers had a greater risk to be undernourished than non-ECB mothers [COR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.11-1.43; p<0.01]. Conclusions: In this study, some modifiable factors were found as predictors of ECB in Bangladesh. ECB mothers were more prone to become under-nourished. These findings can be considered to reduce the number of ECB mothers in Bangladesh consequently improve their nutritional status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Dyah Anantalia Widyastari

Indonesia has a long history of adolescent marriage and early childbearing. The religious, sociocultural and economic factors have been pointed out as the major drivers of early marriage while the 1974 Marriage Law was considered ‘weak’ in preventing the event. As the house of representative has passed the new bill in increasing the minimum legal age of marriage for female from 16 to 19 years old in 2019, a question posed whether the enactment of the new marriage law will be effective in preventing adolescent marriage in Indonesia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Tandon

In pluralistic and multi-religious Asia, South Asia is a region with a high incidence of under-age marriage amongst the developing countries of the world. The prevalence of early marriage in these countries, however, varies according to the geographical area or the existence of particular ethnic communities residing in that region. While such marriage takes different forms and has various causes, one concern is overriding, i.e., it results in multi-faced violation of the human rights of the child particularly the girl child. It is disheartening to mention that the practice of under-age marriage is prevalent in South Asia, despite the fact that these countries have laws prescribing minimum age of marriage. The customs, however, override the written laws and marriages are performed in gross violation of national laws.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1484-1484
Author(s):  
Samuel Scott ◽  
Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Sumanta Neupane ◽  
Priyanjana Pramanik ◽  
Priya Nanda ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives In South Asia, many women are married before their 18th birthday and give birth soon after. Delaying marriage is an attractive nutrition policy target as previous research shows that early marriage (EM) is associated with poor child growth outcomes, operating through many pathways. We sought to describe the prevalence, trends, inequities and predictors of EM in South Asia. Methods We used Demographic and Health Survey data available in the last 15 years for 7 South Asian countries: Afghanistan (AF; 2015), Bangladesh (BG; 2007, 2014), India (IN; 2006, 2016), Maldives (MV; 2009, 2017), Nepal (NP; 2005, 2016), and Pakistan (PK; 2007, 2018). EM was defined as the percentage of women aged 20–24 years who were married before 18 years of age. Our analyses included 133,680 women. The prevalence and absolute burden in terms of number of individuals affected were estimated for each survey round. Relative trends were examined using average annual rate of reduction (AARR). Inequities were examined by geography, wealth, place of residence, and education. Regression decomposition was used to examine the contribution of improvements in wealth and education to EM reductions. Results The most recent rounds of data show that EM is common in BG (69%), AF (52%), NP (52%), IN (41%), and PK (37%) but not MV (4%). IN accounts for 68% of the regional burden, with 21.9 million women married early in 2016. The fastest reductions in EM have occurred in IN (59% to 41% over 10 years, an AARR of −3.8% per year), PK (−2.8% per year), and BG (−1.5% per year). EM prevalence varies subnationally, e.g., from 5% to 52% for states within IN in 2016. Equity analysis shows that EM disproportionately burdens women who are poor, uneducated, and live in rural areas. Progress in narrowing these inequalities has been slow in the past decade. When examining predictors of EM, completion of secondary school was associated with a 20% (PK) to 36% (NP) lower EM prevalence. Decomposition analysis shows that improvements in wealth and education alone predicted between 46% (PK) and 96% (NP) of the actual EM reduction. Conclusions EM remains highly prevalent in South Asia and trends indicate an enduring problem. The nutrition community should invest in building linkages with researchers and practitioners to further understand and address this important social determinant of poor child growth. Funding Sources A4NH/IFPRI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fentanesh Nibret Tiruneh ◽  
Mesfin Wogayehu Tenagashaw ◽  
Degnet Teferi Asres ◽  
Hirut Assaye Cherie

Abstract Background: Early marriage and early childbearing are common practices in Ethiopia. Girls who got married and give birth at a very young age are more likely to experience several health problems including anemia among others. However, the effects of early marriage and early childbearing on anemia status of adolescent girls have not been quantified in previous studies. In this study, we assessed whether early marriage and early childbearing measured at both individual and community levels are associated with adolescent anemia. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2016 demographic and health survey of Ethiopia. Our study concentrated on 3,172 late female adolescents (15-19 years). For bivariate analysis, we used the chi-squared test and spearman correlation coefficients. The relationship between early marriage and childbearing with anemia was evaluated using multilevel binary logistic regression models while controlling other determinants.Results: Overall prevalence of anemia among female adolescents was 23.8 (95% CI; 22.3-25.2). Our multivariable multilevel analysis showed that individual-level marital status (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.06-2.02) and community-level childbearing status (AOR=2.80, 95% CI 1.25-6.29) were positively associated with anemia among female adolescents.Conclusion: Our findings show that the consequences of early marriage and early childbearing on adolescent anemia are significant. There is a need to avoid early marriage and childbearing in Ethiopia to improve the health status of adolescent girls.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fentanesh Nibret Tiruneh ◽  
Mesfin Wogayehu Tenagashaw ◽  
Degnet Teferi Asres ◽  
Hirut Assaye Cherie

Abstract Background Early marriage and early childbearing are common practices in Ethiopia. Girls who get married and give birth at a very young age are more likely to experience several health problems including anemia among others. However, the effects of early marriage and early childbearing on anemia status of adolescent girls have not been quantified in previous studies. In this study, we assessed whether early marriage and early childbearing measured at both individual and community levels are associated with adolescent anemia. Methods We analyzed data from the 2016 demographic and health survey of Ethiopia. Our study focused on 3172 late female adolescents (15–19 years). We used the chi-squared test and spearman correlation coefficients for bivariate analysis. The relationship between early marriage and childbearing with anemia was evaluated using multilevel binary logistic regression models while controlling other determinants. Results Overall prevalence of anemia among female adolescents was 23.8% (95% CI; 22.3–25.2). Our multivariable multilevel analysis showed that individual-level marital status (AOR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.06–2.02) and community-level childbearing status (AOR = 2.80, 95% CI 1.25–6.29) were positively associated with anemia among female adolescents. Conclusion Our findings show the presence of significant association between early marriage & early childbearing with adolescent anemia. Therefore, there is a need for effective policies and programs to end the practice of early child marriage and the consequent adolescent pregnancy in Ethiopia. This will help to improve nutritional status of adolescent girls as well as nutritional outcomes of their children.


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