Early Age Of Marriage Research Articles

Surge of Divorce in Lahore, its Exploring Factors and Possible Solutions, Pakistan

The study had been documented in Lahore city. The objectives of the study were to find factors of divorce and possible solutions to minimize the surge of divorce. The present study was qualitative in nature. For covering all the objectives comprehensively, there were forty two participants in total figure including both the genders and taken form three different segments of the population like divorced people selected using snow-ball sampling technique, lawyers were accessed using convenient sampling technique and married people were also approached who conveniently available at the time of data collection. An unstructured check list was prepared to collect the information with regard to study objectives. In view of findings, results demonstrate there was no single factor leads to divorce but many like economic instability, greed of dowry and wealth, unemployment, disparity in education, joint family system, exchange marriages, early age marriages, birth of girl child, dual marriages, disparity in social status , external pressures, forced and pressurized marriages, spousal illegal relationships, unrealistic expectations, fraud in marriages ,drug abusing, age incompatibility, mental incompatibility, infertility, short-temperament or patience , lack of compromises or sacrifices, egoistical issues. In lieu of effects, divorce left many heinous psychological, social, economic effects on both the gender victims which may further become the cause in personality disorder. With regard to solutions which may be impediments in breaking the legal agreement between male and female like compromise and sacrifices, patience and endurance, empathetic way of analysis, develop feeling of “We” not “I”, respect and honor, caring in every matter of life, no space for lie or mistrust, freedom of speech, egalitarian approach in decision making, sharing gifts and pleasures, caring about liking and disliking, pardon on mistakes, respect for family and relatives not by one part but from both the sides.

Why Are So Many Nepali Women Killing Themselves? A Review Of Key Issues

For decades the maternal mortality in Nepal was the lead cause of death among women, with serious improvements in the maternal mortality ratio in the twentieth century the second most common cause has become more prominent. Suicide is now one of the leading causes of death for women of a reproductive age in Nepal. This scoping review brings together the key available literature to identify the causes of suicide among women in Nepal. Published and unpublished studies and the grey literature published on women and suicide related to Nepal between 2000 and 2014 were searched and included in this review. This review suggested a number of explanations for high rate of suicide among women including: partner violence, alcoholism and polygamy, the culture of silence, early age marriage and prolonged child bearing and dependency on men for financial security. This paper highlights some challenges and suggests ways forward in the improvement of mental health in Nepal.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v1i4.12001Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences Vol. 1, Issue 4, 2015Page: 43-49

Factors affecting awareness of emergency contraception among women

AIM: To assess awareness of emergency contraception and related factors in women living at rural and urban residences of Trabzon city center. METHODS: It's a cross-sectional study and the data was collected via face to face technique with the participation of women who were selected by simple random sampling method. Total of 420 women between ages of 20-44 participated to the questionnairre based study. Chi-square test and logistic regression test were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The 36.9% of participants stated that they heard of emergency contraception where 63.1% did not. Of the women, 96.0% didn't report any use of emergency contraception and 2.6, 1.0 and 0.4% reported ever usage of emergency contraception as once, twice, three and more, respectively. Living in rural residence, having education level of primary school and under, early age of marriage, increased age were determined as independent factors for emergency contraception unawareness in logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Being aware of emergency contraception and its usage were low in our study. As emergency contraception is considered to be a second chance method, indications of emergency contraception should firstly be known by health professionals and correct informations should be transferred to public. Thereby, emergency contraception methods can be used effectively and practically.

Socio-cultural Determinants of Early Female Marriage and Reproductive Health Outcomes in Eastern Ethiopia

Introduction: A considerably high proportion of Ethiopian women (about 66%) marry before 18 with median age for first marriage and sexual debut 16.5 and 16.6 years, respectively suggesting that Ethiopian women generally begin sexual intercourse at the time of their first marriages. Early marriage associated with this early sexual debut and limited use of contraceptive methods increases risks for reproductive health. However, the practice of early marriage having harmful effects on the well being of women and the determinants for the practice is not understood to the greater extent, particularly in the rural parts of the country. The purpose of the study was to investigate the socio-cultural determinants of early marriage and the associated reproductive health outcomes in one of the rural district of Oromia region of Eastern Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study design that combines both quantitative and qualitative study methods was applied. A total of 423 women in the reproductive age group participated in the study. The selection of the study subjects for the quantitative study was made using a systematic random sampling method. A purposive sampling technique was used to select subjects for focus group discussion and in-depth interview. In analyzing the data, descriptive, bi-variate and multivariate statistical techniques were employed. Result: Only 18.4% were firstly married within the legal age of marriage. The mean age at first marriage was 16.04 years. More than half (56%) of the married women reported being pressured into marriage, most of the urging (74.2 %) comes from parents or relatives. Sixty percent of the women reported that they were not informed about the wedding as well as the person they would marry before the decision was made. Tradition was cited as a major cause (63%) for early marriage. Women who married earliest (ages 12- 14) encountered more health problems than those married between 15-17 years (8.1%versus 5.5%). The results of the multivariate analysis showed a strong association between different covariates and early age marriage. Conclusion: Findings underscore the subdued female adolescents’ role and right in the timing and choice of marriage at the expense of tradition in general, as well as that these girls hold a lesser place and control of their sexual and reproductive lives in particular.

Evaluation of the Early Age Married Girls Applying to Our Department

Underage marriages are going on to keep their commonness in countries such as Turkey although frequencies of them are decreasing in the world. According to the law, marriages before eighteen years old are also defined as early marriages. Being married of girls at early ages makes these children deprived from education life and their vicinity. Therefore severe psychological difficulties occur in these children. In this study, 19 girls, who were being married at early ages and psychologically examined between January 1st, 2013-April 1st, 2015 in physical and mental health committee of the Dicle University, Medical Faculty, were taken to evaluate. These 19 cases were retrospectively assessed in sociodemographic data (age, education level, and relative degrees), type of marriage, state of mind, forensic reports and files. Of 410 cases, who admitted to our mental and physical committee, 19 (4.6%) were at the category of early age marriage. These 19 cases range between 13 and 17 years of age. Three of them (15.8%) were thinking of suicide and one of them (5.3%) attempted suicide. At least, one mental disorder was diagnosed in 8 (42.1%) of the cases and the most common diagnose was acute stress disorder in four (21.1%) cases. It has been stated that marriages at early ages are caused by economic and cultural reasons. As conclusion, being married of children at early ages is an important risk factor in social and mental health.

Intergenerational Consequences of Early Age Marriages of Girls: Effect on Children’s Human Capital

We use nationally representative data from India on test scores in an instrumental variable framework to identify the effects of early age marriages of girls on the human capital of their children. Early age marriages reduce mother’s educational attainment, which can adversely impact the education outcomes of their children. On the other hand, better marriage prospects of young brides may compensate and improve children’s educational outcomes by way of resource provision. Consequently, the effect of early age marriages of girls on their children is theoretically ambiguous and warrants an empirical examination. In our empirical analysis, we use variation in age at menarche to instrument for age at marriage. Our estimates show that a delay of one year in the age at marriage of the mother increases the probability of being able to do the most challenging arithmetic and reading tasks on the administered test by 3.5 percentage points.

Factors affecting Early Age Marriage in Dhankuta Municipality, Nepal

Background: Child marriage is a substantial barrier to social and economic development in Nepal, and a primary concern for women’s health. Little evidence from Nepal is available regarding the ways in which early marriage may compromise young women’s lives and their reproductive health and choices. The objectives of this study was to find out the factors associated with early age marriages in Dhankuta Municipality. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among the residents of Dhankuta municipality, Nepal; where 246 households were taken as subjects. Pretested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the study subjects and face to face interview was conducted. Chi-square test was applied to find out the association between factors and age of marriages. Results: Almost 53.3% of women were married before age 18 years. Education of wife and husband, and economic status are found to be the important variables in explaining early age marriage. Prevalence of child marriage was higher in Hindu than in Buddhist and Christian women but the difference was not significant. Age of marriage was not significantly associated with contraceptive use. Unwanted pregnancies were higher in early age marriage. It was also seen that unwanted pregnancies was higher (59.3%) than wanted pregnancies (48.6%). Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate that early age marriage was associated with low education and being poor. Nepal Journal of Medical Sciences | Volume 03 | Number 01 | January-June 2014 | Page 26-30 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njms.v3i1.10354

Root Causes of Low Female Literacy in FATA Pakistan: (A Case Study of Jalozai Camp)

This research focuses on causes of low female literacy in FATA areas of Pakistan. The area of this study is nowadays undergoing terrorist activities and military operations. Majority of people in the study area are internally displaced called IDPs due to the unfavorable situation. Unfortunately in Pakistan the level of literacy is extremely low and hardly touches 57% including 69% males and 45% females. Especially female literacy rate is very low and in particular this level in rural and tribal areas of Pakistan is alarming. Many researchers have done valuable works on the same topic from different angles but this research focuses the same topic from different angles. Sample for the study has been taken from females of Jalozai camp consists of migrants from FATA through simple questionnaire method. The empirical result of regression analysis shows that reasons behind this low female literacy are terrorist activities (like bomb blasting, kidnapping and target killing), rude custom of early age marriages in these conflicts areas and parent’s illiteracy. The result received from regression analysis shows that there is strong relation between dependent and independent variables.

A Study of Cervical Pap Smears in central India: a city based study

Introduction: The most common cancer of women in our country is cervical cancer (24/100,000) followed by breastcancer (21/100,000). Some inflammatory lesions like Trichomonas and Human papiloma virus are forerunners ofmalignancy underlining the importance of diagnosing these conditions early. Methods: The material for the presentstudy comprised of examination of 500 cervical/vaginal smears taken from patients attending OPD. Papanicolaoustaining was used for staining. Cases were reported according to The Bathesda System. Result: In the present study lowgrade squamous intraepithelial lesion were found in 35 cases (7%). High grade squamous intraepithelial lesion wasfound in 25 cases (5%). Invasive carcinoma cervix was found in 7 cases (1.4%). Atypical epithelial cells of uncertainsignificance were found in 65 cases, of which 50 cases were reported as ASCUS and 15 cases were reported asAGCUS. In the present study significant number of patients with history of early age at marriage (34 cases) and firstchild before 18 years of age (37 cases) presented with squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL + HSIL). Carcinomacervix was found to be correlated with early age of marriage and first child birth before 18 years of age. Conclusion:Cervical cancer can be detected at a very early stage by simple technique of exfoliative cytology. Early stage detectionis important because early stage is 100% curable, reducing the morbidity and mortality from invasive cancer cervix.

Teenage Pregnancy: Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

Background: Teenage pregnancy remains a public health problem as about 70,000 adolescent mothers die every year due to early childbearing. The NHFS III 2005-2006 estimates that the overall teenage pregnancies in India are 16%.In developing nations, as in India, teenage pregnancies are due to early age of marriage and tend to be welcomed by family members and society. Despite legal age for marriage of girls being 18, 47.4% of women in India were child brides. Teenage pregnancies have shown association with higher risks of prematurity, low birth weight, preeclampsia and anaemia as compared to adult pregnancies. This study aims to look into the differences in the obstetric and foetal outcomes of teenage pregnancies and adult pregnancies. Methodology: A hospital based comparison study was done in the post natal ward of a tertiary care hospital in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.100 teenage mothers and 100 adult mothers were included in the study. All were primi gravidae and received sufficient antenatal care. Study Variables were age, literacy status, age at marriage, mode of delivery,LBW,etc.Data was analysed using MS Excel and relevant statistical tests were applied. Results: Majority of adolescent mothers were in the age group of 17-19 years and their mean age was found to be 19 years. The mean age of adult mothers was 22 years.66% of teenage mothers and 58% of adult mothers had normal vaginal deliveries. The number of caesarian sections was high (38%) in adult mothers as compared to teenage mothers (25%).Anaemia,PROM,Obstructed labour was found to be higher among teenage mothers when compared to adult mothers. Low birth weight was in higher proportion(25%) in teenage group as compared to adult group(18%).The differences in outcomes were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Although teenage mothers had higher incidence of anaemia, preterm babies and low birth weight babies, the difference between cases and controls was not statistically significant. Teenage childbearing does not contribute to adverse obstetric or fetal outcomes provided sufficient antenatal care is given.

English

Literacy level and educational attainment are vital indicators of development of any society. In spite of many socio-economic securities provided to scheduled castes in the constitution and by the government, scheduled castes are still comparatively illiterates and less educated than general category. This could be attributed to a variety of reasons such as early age marriage, high female illiteracy due to importance to male child, child labour, superstition, dominance of higher castes, and deprivation from socio-economic status etc. Education is an important variable affecting demographic behavior concerning marriage, fertility, mortality, migration as well as participation in labour force. In a number of research studies, a clear cut negative relationship has been established between the educational level of women and fertility. The age of females at marriage is also affected by the educational attainment of females. Even infant mortality is found to be affected by the educational status of mother. Thus there is a need to study on literacy and educational attainment of scheduled castes of Maldah district and to give suggestions for their educational development. Key words: Scheduled castes, literacy, and educational attainment.

Prevalence of human papilloma virus and analysis of its risk factors in Daqing city, Heilongjiang province in 2010

The aim of the study was to investigate the positivity of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the possible related risk factors for HPV infection in certain district government in Daqing city, Heilongjiang province. A total of 2015 female staffs who participated cervical cancer screening were selected as subjects, in certain district government in Daqing city, Heilongjiang province, from June to October, 2010. First of all, a standardized questionnaire was used for collection of subject's demographic information and possible risk factors. Afterwards, cervical cytological and HPV DNA testing were applied to all participants. Subjects with suspected cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer were recalled for taking biopsy under colposcopy for further histopathological diagnosis. Standardized HPV positivity by Segi's world population and compared the difference of HPV positivity of different types. The positivity of HPV between women with and without cervical abnormalities were compared by unconditional logistic regression. And the possible risk factors for HPV infection were also investigated. A total of 1759 out of 2015 subjects had gynecological examination, among which 152 subjects were HPV positive. The positivity of HPV was 8.64% (95%CI: 7.37% - 10.05%), and it was 8.47% (95%CI: 7.93% - 9.03%) after age standardization. Finally, 57 (3.24%) and 1702 (96.76%) subjects had abnormal (≥ CIN1 or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL)) and normal cervix, respectively. The HPV positivity between women with and without cervical abnormalities were 73.68% (42/57) and 6.46% (110/1702), respectively. There was a significant difference (χ(2) = 307.23, P < 0.05) in HPV positivity between women with and without cervical abnormalities. The risk of cervical abnormalities for women with HPV positivity was 40.52 times (95%CI: 21.79 - 75.36) higher than that for women with HPV negativity. Among women with cervical abnormalities, the most three common HPV types, in descending order, were HPV16 (28.07% (16/57)), HPV52 (14.04% (8/57)) and HPV58 (12.28% (7/57)). While among women with normal cervix, the most three common HPV types were HPV52 (1.23% (21/1702)), HPV16 (1.00% (17/1702)) and HPV58 (0.71% (12/1702)). The positivity of HPV clade A9 among women with and without cervical abnormalities were 59.65% (34/57) and 3.23% (55/1702), which were higher than that of other clades. Analysis for risk factors of HPV infection showed that smoking (OR = 2.71, 95%CI: 1.00 - 7.33), late age (≥ 15 years old) of menarche (OR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.00 - 2.05), early age (≤ 20 years old) of marriage (OR = 3.09, 95%CI: 1.30 - 7.35), multiple (≥ 2) sexual partners (OR = 2.69, 95%CI: 1.46 - 4.95), husband's extramarital sexual behaviors (OR = 2.77, 95%CI: 1.25 - 6.12) and multiple (≥ 2 times) parity (OR = 1.77, 95%CI: 1.03 - 3.03) would increase the risk of HPV positivity. HPV positivity among women with cervical abnormalities was significantly higher than that among women with normal cervix. HPV16, 52, 58 were the major genotypes among the study population. Smoking, late age of menarche, early age of marriage, multiple sexual partners, husband extramarital sexual behaviors and multiple parity increase the risk of HPV infection.

Current Status of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) and Screening for Cervical Cancer in Countries at Different Levels of Development

Cancer of the uterine cervix is a worldwide menace taking innumerable womens' lives. The literature is vast and a large number of studies have been conducted in this field. Analyses have shown significant differences exist in terms of screening and HPV testing facilities among high income and low to middle income countries. In addition, acute lack of awareness and knowledge among the concerned population is particularly noted in rural areas of the low income countries. A detailed review of Indian case studies revealed that early age of marriage and childbirth, multiparity, poor personal hygiene and low socio-economic status among others are the principal risk factors for this disease. This review concludes that a two pronged strategy involving strong government and NGO action is necessary to minimize the occurrence of cervical cancer especially in low and medium income countries.

Socio-Demographic and Behavioural Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Rural and Urban Areas of North Bengal, India

Cervical cancer is common among women worldwide. A multitude of risk factors aggravate the disease. This study was conducted to: (1) determine the prevalence and (2) make a comparative analysis of the socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors of cervical cancer and knowledge, attitude and practice between rural and urban women of North Bengal, India. Community-based cross-sectional study. A survey (first in North Bengal) was conducted among 133 women in a rural area (Kawakhali) and 88 women in an urban slum (Shaktigarh) using predesigned semi-structured questionnaires. The respondents were informed of the causes (including HPV), signs and symptoms, prevention of cervical cancer and treatment, and the procedure of the PAP test and HPV vaccination. The prevalence of risk factors like multiparity, early age of marriage, use of cloth during menstruation, use of condom and OCP, early age of first intercourse was 37.2%, 82%, 83.3%, 5.4%, 15.8% and 65.6% respectively. Awareness about the cause, signs and symptoms, prevention of cervical cancer, PAP test and HPV vaccination was 3.6%, 6.3%, 3.6%, 9.5% and 14.5% respectively. Chi-square testing revealed that in the study population, significant differential at 5% exists between rural and urban residents with respect to number of children, use of cloth/sanitary napkins, family history of cancer and awareness regarding causes of cervical cancer. Regarding KAP, again using chi-square tests, surprisingly, level of education is found to be significant for each element of KAP in urban areas in contrast to complete absence of association between education and elements of KAP in rural areas. A large number of risk factors were present in both areas, the prevalence being higher in the rural areas. The level of awareness and role of education appears to be insignificant determinants in rural compared to urban areas. This pilot study needs to be followed up by large scale programmes to re-orient awareness campaigns, especially in rural areas.

Seroprevalence of Treponema Pallidum antibody among pregnant population of Bangladesh

The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of antibody to Treponema pallidum among pregnant women and its association with age, sexual behavior and socioeconomic status. In this cross-sectional study, 1266 sera were collected from pregnant women attending Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Rajshahi, Khulna and Chittagong Medical College Hospitals between February 2007 and April 2008. From each hospital, samples were collected from about a quarter of the total recruited pregnant women. Sera were tested to identify the antibody to T. pallidum using Treponema pallidum hemagglutination at the Virology Department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Logistic regression was used to explore potential risk factors for syphilis. Among 1250 sera tested (16 sera were discarded due to hemolysis), 37 (2.96%) were positive for T. pallidum antibody. Higher seropositivity was associated with couples with no formal education, low socioeconomic status (P = 0.006), marriage at or before 18 years of age (P = 0.002), multiple marriages of the husband (P = 0.031) and sexual activity for more than 10 years (P = 0.007). Among these factors, low education level of women, early age of marriage and multiple marriages of the husband showed individual effects on high seropositivity to T. pallidum. The high seroprevalence of syphilis among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics of these hospitals indicates the need for the incorporation of screening for syphilis in routine antenatal screening in Bangladesh. Improvement of education level in the female population, prevention of early marriage and preventing polygamy of husbands may play an important role in prevention of syphilis among women.

How useful are the demographic surveys in explaining the determinants of early marriage of girls in the Terai of Nepal?

In recent decades significant changes in Nepalese society have greatly contributed to the increase in age at marriage of girls in Nepal. Factors responsible for these changes include educational development, urbanization and development of mass communications. However, many parents still marry their daughters at very young ages and this practice is particularly prevalent in the Terai region. This paper examines several demographic data sets with a view to assessing their utility for understanding the determinants of early age of marriage of girls in the Terai.

Factors Influencing the Adolescent Marriage in a Selected Area of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, adolescent marriage has a long established custom, especially in the rural areas where it is a common phenomenon for the girls. The study was aimed to explore the factors associated with Adolescent Marriage in a selected area of Bangladesh. A total of 220 adolescent women aged 13 to 20 years were included in this study and the data were collected from August to December 2016 among the adolescence mothers who delivered at selected hospital by face to face interview technique using semi structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. The mean age of the respondents was 18.9±3.2 years. About 97.7% of the respondents were housewives and the majority (58.6%) had primary level of education, 46.3% of the respondents got married at the age of 14-16 years and 40.9% of them got married at the age of ≤13 years. The mean family monthly income was 8412.4±6567.6 taka and most of the respondents (81.8%) experienced their first pregnancy at the age of ≤16 years. More than half (52.3%) of the respondents mentioned that fear of dowry was the reason behind the adolescence marriage. Father’s and mother’s educational level, family monthly income and consent taken during marriage was found to be significantly associated with age of the marriage of the adolescent girls. The findings reveal that the parent’s knowledge about legal age at first marriage was very much insufficient in some part of Bangladesh. It was reported that most of the marriage decision was made by the parents without the consent of the child. Social development such as parental education and urbanization may be the important solution in the prevention of early age marriages

Opinions on early-age marriage and marriage customs among Kurdish-speaking women in southeast Turkey

ObjectivesFor women, marriage before the age of 18 years has adverse consequences for physical, mental and emotional well-being and constitutes a barrier for continued education. According to a national survey,...

Adolescent infertility—to treat or not to treat

To present the set of reasons for and against fertility treatment for a very young patient. An expert opinion based on clinical experience. An academic-affiliated fertility clinic situated in East Jerusalem. A 16-year-old married teenager with 2 years' duration of infertility due to polycystic ovarian syndrome was referred to our infertility center after treatment with six cycles of clomiphene citrate and ovarian drilling. Counseling of the options of fertility treatments, weight reduction, physical exercise, metformin intake, and an additional gonadotropins-intrauterine insemination cycle with IVF backup. Successful pregnancy while avoiding the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. The patient conceived a single embryo and on the 30th week of gestation suffered premature uterine contractions and gave birth to a 1,330-g preterm male newborn. Adolescent contraception and unintended pregnancies are prevalent issues in the Western world, whereas adolescent infertility is unheard of. Early age of marriage and conception imposes tremendous dilemma to the society of reproductive endocrinologists. This important cultural issue ought to be debated regarding the age at marriage, the age at first pregnancy, and the treatment of infertility in married "minors" who need treatment. Such a debate is likely to encourage development of formal guidelines for practitioners, which would clearly be beneficial.

Maternal mortality in Turkey.

All maternal deaths are considered as a social injustice. For this reason, governments should take necessary measures to make motherhood safer. In order to prevent premature deaths of women, causes of deaths must be known. In Turkey, the latest survey conducted in hospitals in selected 53 provinces. This hospital-based survey revealed that maternal mortalities make up 5% of all women deaths and maternal mortality is 49.2 per hundred thousand live births. Factors which are related with the status of women including, education, socio-economic conditions, early marriage age, and fertility level have influence on maternal mortality level in the community. Accessibility and availability of maternal health care services are also very important factors to reduce maternal mortality.