https://imcjms.com/public Ibrahim Medical College Journal of Medical Science https://imcjms.com/public/registration/journal_full_text/14 Tue, 02 Aug 2016 07:56:30 +0000 This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in two purposively selected rural areas of Faridpur district - Alfadanga and Boalmari. The objectives were to find out the age at marriage and fertility pattern amongst the adolescent married women residing in the study areas. A total of 426 women were selected purposively and interviewed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Most (97.2%) were in the age group of 15-19 years, being married by 15.5 ± 1.5 years. Although 57.5% had a secondary level education, almost all (97%) were found to be housewives. Monthly income was between Taka 2001-4000 in 41.3% of the households. Regarding fertility pattern, 19% of the adolescent women were found to be pregnant at the time of survey. The total fertility rate (TFR) among this age group was estimated to be 2.6 per woman. To help improve the situation, awareness on the negative consequences of early marriage and consequent childbearing needs to be created not only among the young adolescent girls but should be targeted towards their parents too. Introduction Early marriage is considered as a prime determinant of fertility in developing countries, given their relatively low contraceptive use. It leads to larger family sizes and rapid national population growth6. Because the adolescent population constitute the fertility potential cohort, their age at marriage and fertility behaviour has to be controlled effectively if national demographic goals are to be achieved on time. In view of the negative health, social and economic consequences of early marriage and early childbearing, it is also important to have a clear understanding of the marriage and fertility patterns of adolescents in order to design interventions to improve the situation. This study was designed to look into these patterns amongst the adolescent girls living in a rural setting. Methods and Materials Data were collected on socio-demographic variables including age at marriage, fertility pattern of the adolescent girls (current status of pregnancy, number of living children). Age specific fertility rate (ASFR) and total fertility rate (TFR) were estimated using standard calculations. Results More than half of the respondents (57.5%) had secondary level education whereas this percentage was only 27.2% among the husbands. Almost all (97.7%) were found to be housewives. Fifty eight percent of their husbands were working as day laborers and 41% of the households had a monthly income of Taka 2001-4000 (Table 1). Fig-1: Age specific fertility per 100 women Table-1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (n=426)   Among the selected socio-demographic characteristics, husband’s education was found to be significantly associated with respondent’s age at marriage while respondent’s education and her occupation had significant association with the number of living children (Tables 2 and 3). The TFR of the study population was calculated to be 2.6 per woman. Table-2: Respondents’ age at marriage and demographic characteristics (n=426)       Figures in the parentheses denote corresponding %; Data were analysed using Chi-squared (c2) Test. Discussion Education up to secondary level was seen to be higher in the women (57.5% vs 27.2%) than their husbands. Bangladesh Fertility Survey (BFS) conducted in 1989, found 70% of the married adolescents to be illiterate and only 13% had seven or more years of schooling7. Higher education level may have a significant effect in reducing the incidence of teenage marriage. Regarding husband’s occupation, it was seen that 58.0% of them were working as day laborers whereas the percentage found in BFS 1989 was 70%. Monthly income was between Taka 2001- 4000 in 41% of the households. It was found that 19% adolescents were pregnant during the time of survey. Thirty five percent of the women had one living child while 3.5% had two living children. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 1996/97, found the percentage of females who were mothers by age 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 to be 8.5%, 23.5%, 32.6%, 43.2% and 54.6% respectively. In that survey, the age specific fertility rate (ASFR) among the 15-19 year age group was found to be 147 per 1000 women8. The corresponding data found in BDHS 2004 was 142 per 1000 women9. These data differ from the one found in this study which was 410 per 1000 women. This may be due to the fact that the denominators used in those surveys were quite different from the one used in this study. The ASFR in the 15-19 year age group found in Philipines, Indonesia, Pakistan and India was 50, 61, 84 and 121 respectively1. BDHS 2004 also estimated TFR to be 3 per woman which is a little higher than the TFR of 2.6 per woman found in this study.   In this study, an attempt has been made to find out the age at marriage and the fertility pattern of adolescent married girls residing in rural areas of Bangladesh. The mean age at marriage was observed to be 15.5 ± 1.5 years which was below the minimum legal age for marriage of females. Although a trend towards increasing age at marriage is observed in this study, the rise is very slow and too little. The total fertility rate among this group was estimated to be 2.6 per woman. In order to reduce the rate of early marriage and childbearing, adolescents, their parents and communities should be made more aware of the negative health, social and economic consequences of these events. Such awareness could be created through social mobilization and information, education and communication campaigns. Opportunities for education, empowerment in decision making and employment outside the home for young women are likely to result in delayed marriage. Another important measure could be an extension of the interval between marriage and first birth through effective use of family planning methods. References 2.  Islam MM, Mahmud M. Marriage Patterns and Some Issues Related to Adolescent Marriage in Bangladesh. Asia-Pacific population Journal 1999; 11(3): 27-42. 4.  Singh S. Adolescent Childbearing in Developing Countries: A Global Review. Studies in Family Planning 1998; 29(2): 117-136. 6.  Islam MM. Adolescent Childbearing in Bangladesh. Asia-Pacific Population Journal 1999; 14(3): 73-87. 8.  Mitra SN, Al-Sabir A, Cross AR, Jamil K. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 1996-97 (Dhaka, Mitra and Associates). 2026 Ibrahim Medical College. All rights reserved.