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16 lakh teenage girls become mothers annually

Staff Reporter || risingbd.com

Published: 11:13, 10 July 2013   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
16 lakh teenage girls become mothers annually

DHAKA, July 10: Poverty is the main reason behind early marriage in Bangladesh. On the other hand, 66 per cent girls marry before they reach at the age of 18 years. As a result, both maternal and child mortality rates are increasing in the country.

 

It was stated by Health Minister AFM Ruhal Huque while addressing a press conference at the conference room of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at Secretariat on the occasion of World Population Day on Wednesday. The main theme of this year`s World Population Day is `Teenage pregnancy is one of the major causes of maternal mortality."

 

The Health Minister said 64.3 per cent of the married women become pregnant when they are teenage girls. As a result, 16 lakh teenage girls give birth to children every year.

 

AFM Ruhal Huque said there is a tendency among teenage girls to become mothers in rural areas compared to urban areas. This tendency is the highest in Rajshahi Division, which is 32.8 per cent, while lowest in Sylhet Division, which is 19.7 per cent.

 

The Health Minister said 15 to 19 year-old girls give birth to 16 lakh children annually. Nine, out of 10 of them are already married.

 

Ruhal Huque said almost 23 per cent of the country`s total population are 10 to 19 year-old girls. Of them, 66 per cent are married before 18 year-old. One-third of these teenage girls become pregnant before reaching 18 years of age.

 

Parents encourage early marriage out of fear that the dowry price will increase as their daughter ages. Young girls are often regarded as an economic burden to their families; marrying them off at a very early age is seen as reducing that burden.

 

The Health Minister observed that teenage mothers suffer from long-term health complications due to unsafe delivery.

 

With early marriage, many girls drop out of school. Studies show that girls who marry as adolescents attain lower schooling levels, have lower social status in their husband’s families, report less reproductive control, and suffer higher rates of maternal mortality and domestic violence.

 

Moreover, early marriage extends a woman’s reproductive span, thereby contributing to larger family sizes, especially in the absence of contraception.

risingbd.com