4 out of every 10 child bride in the world is Indian

The National Family Health Survey 3 found that 46% of Indian women between the ages of 18 and 49 were married before they were 18. There are around 23 million child brides in the country accounting fo

By: Admin | | Updated: October 3, 2013 11:28 am

The National Family Health Survey 3 found that 46% of Indian women between the ages of 18 and 49 were married before they were 18. There are around 23 million child brides in the country accounting for 40% of underage brides around the world and the South Asian region with 30 million underage brides, accounts for 50% of all underage brides in the world. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) believes that if this trend continues there will be 140 million child brides with 18.5 million of them under the age of 15. Global human rights NGO Breakthrough s vice-president Sonali Khan told TOI, This issue came up when we were working with communities in Bihar and Jharkhand. Under-age girls are incapable of negotiating domestic violence, are deprived of early health and reproductive rights. This later has implications on child and maternal mortality. Also Read - Genes linked to common brain disorder, Chiari 1 malformation, identified

Also Read - Pregnancy complications: What can you do to reduce risk of premature labour?

The trend is even worse in rural India where up to 71% girls in rural areas were married before they turned 18. The theme of this year s World Population day was also the dangers of adolescent pregnancies, because even though the female body is capable of giving birth, it s not fully prepared for the rigours of it. (Why India is the worst place for women) Also Read - Kids turning hypertensive: Get your child screened for early detection

Here are some of the common issues that riddle adolescent mothers-to-be and their unborn babies:

Hypertension: They have a higher risk of suffering from hypertension during pregnancy than women in their 20s and 30s. They re also likelier to suffer from pre-eclampsia (What is preeclampsia?). In pregnant women (including teens), hypertension can lead to a serious condition called preeclampsia where women start passing protein in their urine. This leads to the disease called eclampsia which is characterised by seizures and a coma. This condition also affects other vital organs like the kidneys, liver and brain.

Anaemia: Caused due to lack of red blood cells which is usually due to nutrition deficiency like iron, vitamin B12, folic acid. The most common form is anaemia. Even women who re older experience iron deficiency during pregnancy. (W hat are the different causes of anaemia?)

Postpartum haemorrhage: The term refers to a haemorrhage (bleeding) after delivering and is quite common among adolescent mothers. It s caused due to the four Ts:

Tone: Uterine atony or the inability of the uterus to contract leading to continuous bleeding.
Trauma: From delivery which causes tear of tissues and vessels.
Tissue: Retention of tissue from the placenta or foetus which leads to bleeding.
Thrombin: Failure of clotting

Premature birth: This has a host of complications including neonatal mortality (death within the first month) developmental disorders, respiratory complications, vision problems and heart-related issues. They re also likelier to have a low-birth weight which is linked to neurological problems. They also suffer from hypoglycaemia (less glucose in the bloodstream).

STDs: The chances of contracting sexually transmitted diseases including HIV is much higher in adolescent girls because they have less say in who their sexual partner is, particularly in an orthodox country like ours. Many of them are married to men who they ve never met before and have no clue about their sexual history

All in all adolescent pregnancies are a big menace and we need to curb the practice to safeguard the lives of our daughters, so that they too can live a completely fulfilling life.

Published : September 9, 2013 10:58 am | Updated:October 3, 2013 11:28 am

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