Peer-reviewed article
Early marriage is an obstacle to born a healthy child – A review
Mohammad Shamsul Huda, Minhaj Uddin, Md. Ebrahim Khalil, Dilruba Jahan Rume, Md. Syful Islam et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This review examines early marriage as a barrier to healthy childbirth and child development. Early marriage, defined as marriage before age 18, violates girls' human rights and limits their education and autonomy. Girls who marry early face increased health risks including sexually transmitted infections, complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and premature delivery of infants. The review identifies poverty as a driver and recommends educational and employment opportunities, community engagement, and involvement of religious leaders to end the practice.
Key points
- Early marriage deprives girls of education, economic opportunity, and choice in life partners
- Early marriage increases risk of sexually transmitted infections, cervical problems, stillbirths, and childbirth fistula
- Infants born to girls who marry early are at higher risk of premature birth and poor outcomes
- Poverty is identified as a driver of early marriage
- Solutions include social media strategies, community engagement with religious leaders, and education and employment opportunities for young women
Limitations
The document is a brief review with limited detail on specific studies, methodology, or evidence sources cited. It does not provide quantitative data, study designs, or country-specific information to enable assessment of the strength or geographic specificity of the evidence presented.
Abstract
As evidenced by universal understanding and national laws, the marriage of 18-year-old girls is a global phenomenon affecting millions. Early marriage is a violation of human rights that deprives girls of the opportunity to receive a full education, to pay for welfare, to hold modern, mature, and ultimately to choose a life partner. Early marriage is driven by poverty and affects the well-being of young girls: increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, cervical growth, intestinal disease, stillbirths, and childbirth fistula. Early marriage has limited the development of a healthy child. The fetus is more likely to be born prematurely, such as newborns, newborns, or infants. If we want to end a marriage at an early age, we need to use social media strategies and programs, spread the word, attract local religious leaders, including guardians, and equip young women with education and employment.