Document Type
Presentation
Loading...
Publication Date
7-1-2022
Abstract
Child marriage affects girls all around the world. South Asia has the highest prevalence of child marriage and can be attributed to causes like patriarchal norms, family coercion, notions of family honor, economic status, educational status, non-enforcement of the law, etc. Early marriage is associated with several mental and physical health risks for young girls, especially on the girls’ reproductive health. In order to better understand the ways to prevent adverse reproductive health outcomes, a thorough knowledge of the main reproductive health outcomes associated with child marriage is needed. PubMed and CINAHL were used to identify 3220 articles and after the removal of duplicates, screening based on title and abstract, and exclusion based on eligibility criteria, a total of 17 articles were included in the rapid review. The outcomes of interest included Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications, Unintended/ Unplanned Pregnancy, Early Childbirth, Miscarriage, Pregnancy Termination, Eclampsia, and Sexually transmitted diseases/ infection (STD/STI) and Reproductively transmitted infection (RTI). The findings showed that overall, girls who got married before the age of 18 demonstrated a higher prevalence of pregnancy and childbirth complications, unintended/ unplanned pregnancies, early childbirth, miscarriage, pregnancy termination, and STIs & RTIs. These findings indicate a need for policies and programs to support laws that ban child marriage by addressing the drivers of child marriage. Education regarding puberty, sex and safe-sex practices, pregnancy, fertility, contraceptive methods is needed for both girls and boys. The provision of modern contraceptive methods, safe abortion services, safe delivery and post-delivery care should further help.
Recommended Citation
Kazmi, Sameen, "Early Marriage and Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Women in South Asia" (2022). Master of Public Health Capstone Presentations. Presentation 453.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/mphcapstone_presentation/453
Language
English
Comments
Presentation: 5:23
Poster attached as supplemental file below