Decline in Child Marriage and Changes in Its Effect on Reproductive Outcomes in Bangladesh

• Published in: Journal of health, population and nutrition Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 317 - 330
• Main Author: Kamal, S.M. Mostafa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bangladesh icddr,b 01-09-2012; ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research; BioMed Central Ltd; BioMed Central; International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
• Subjects: Abortion; Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adult; Adults; Age; Age at first birth; Age Factors; Bangladesh; Child; Child Advocacy; Child Development; Child marriage; Child mortality; Childbirth; Children; Female; Female fertility; First born; Health aspects; Health Surveys; Humans; Induced abortion; Infant mortality; Islam; Male; Marriage; Marriage - ethnology; Middle Aged; Original Papers; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Unplanned - ethnology; Reproduction; Reproductive health; Reproductive outcomes; Social Change; Surveys; Teenage pregnancy; Teenagers; Unintended pregnancy; Women; Women's Rights; Womens education; Working women; Young Adult; Young women; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 1606-0997; 2072-1315
• DOI: 10.3329/jhpn.v30i3.12296

This paper explores the decline in child marriage and changes in its
effect on reproductive outcomes of Bangladeshi women, using the 2007
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Chi-square tests,
negative binomial Poisson regression and binary logistic regression
were performed in analyzing the data. Overall, 82% of women aged 20-49
years were married-off before 18 years of age, and 63% of the marriages
took place before 16 years of age. The incidence of child marriage was
significantly less among the young women aged 20-24 years compared to
their older counterparts. Among others, women's education appeared as
the most significant single determinant of child marriage as well as
decline in child marriage. Findings revealed that, after being adjusted
for sociodemographic factors, child marriage compared to adult marriage
appeared to be significantly associated with lower age at first birth
(OR=0.81, 95% CI=76-0.86), higher fertility (IRR=1.45, 95%
WCI=1.35-1.55), increased risk of child mortality (IRR=1.64, 95%
WCI=1.44- 1.87), decreased risk of contraceptive-use before any
childbirths (OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.50-0.63), higher risk of giving three or
more childbirth (OR=3.94, 95% CI=3.38-4.58), elevated risk of unplanned
pregnancies (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.02-1.45), increased risk of pregnancy
termination (OR=1.16, 95% CI=1.00-1.34), and higher risk of the use of
any current contraceptive method (OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.06-1.35). Increased
enforcement of existing policies is crucial for the prevention of child
marriage. Special programmes should be undertaken to keep girls in
school for longer period to raise the age of females at first marriage
in Bangladesh and thereby reduce the adverse reproductive outcomes.