Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018

Early marriage (EM) and early childbearing (ECB) have far‐reaching consequences. This study describes the prevalence, trends, inequalities, and drivers of EM and ECB in South Asia using eight rounds of Demographic and Health Survey data across 13 years. We report the percentage of ever‐married women...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Scott, Samuel P., Nguyen, Phuong Hong, Neupane, Sumanta, Pramanik, Priyanjana, Nanda, Priya, Bhutta, Zulfiqar A., Afsana, Kaosar, Menon, Purnima
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: New York Academy of Sciences 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142343
_version_ 1855521533745692672
author Scott, Samuel P.
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Neupane, Sumanta
Pramanik, Priyanjana
Nanda, Priya
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
Afsana, Kaosar
Menon, Purnima
author_browse Afsana, Kaosar
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
Menon, Purnima
Nanda, Priya
Neupane, Sumanta
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Pramanik, Priyanjana
Scott, Samuel P.
author_facet Scott, Samuel P.
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Neupane, Sumanta
Pramanik, Priyanjana
Nanda, Priya
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
Afsana, Kaosar
Menon, Purnima
author_sort Scott, Samuel P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Early marriage (EM) and early childbearing (ECB) have far‐reaching consequences. This study describes the prevalence, trends, inequalities, and drivers of EM and ECB in South Asia using eight rounds of Demographic and Health Survey data across 13 years. We report the percentage of ever‐married women aged 20–24 years (n = 105,150) married before 18 years (EM) and with a live birth before 20 years (ECB). Relative trends were examined using average annual rate of reduction (AARR). Inequalities were examined by geography, marital household wealth, residence, and education. Sociodemographic drivers of changes for EM were assessed using regression decomposition analyses. We find that EM/ECB are still common in Bangladesh (69%/69%), Nepal (52%/51%), India (41%/39%), and Pakistan (37%/38%), with large subnational variation in most countries. EM has declined fastest in India (AARR of –3.8%/year), Pakistan (–2.8%/year), and Bangladesh (–1.5%/year), but EM elimination by 2030 will not occur at these rates. Equity analyses show that poor, uneducated women in rural areas are disproportionately burdened. Regression decomposition analysis shows that improvements in wealth and education explained 44% (India) to 96% (Nepal) of the actual EM reduction. Investments across multiple sectors are required to understand and address EM and ECB, which are pervasive social determinants of maternal and child wellbeing.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace142343
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher New York Academy of Sciences
publisherStr New York Academy of Sciences
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1423432025-04-03T21:29:22Z Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018 Scott, Samuel P. Nguyen, Phuong Hong Neupane, Sumanta Pramanik, Priyanjana Nanda, Priya Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. Afsana, Kaosar Menon, Purnima gender pregnancy children marriage marital status equality women Early marriage (EM) and early childbearing (ECB) have far‐reaching consequences. This study describes the prevalence, trends, inequalities, and drivers of EM and ECB in South Asia using eight rounds of Demographic and Health Survey data across 13 years. We report the percentage of ever‐married women aged 20–24 years (n = 105,150) married before 18 years (EM) and with a live birth before 20 years (ECB). Relative trends were examined using average annual rate of reduction (AARR). Inequalities were examined by geography, marital household wealth, residence, and education. Sociodemographic drivers of changes for EM were assessed using regression decomposition analyses. We find that EM/ECB are still common in Bangladesh (69%/69%), Nepal (52%/51%), India (41%/39%), and Pakistan (37%/38%), with large subnational variation in most countries. EM has declined fastest in India (AARR of –3.8%/year), Pakistan (–2.8%/year), and Bangladesh (–1.5%/year), but EM elimination by 2030 will not occur at these rates. Equity analyses show that poor, uneducated women in rural areas are disproportionately burdened. Regression decomposition analysis shows that improvements in wealth and education explained 44% (India) to 96% (Nepal) of the actual EM reduction. Investments across multiple sectors are required to understand and address EM and ECB, which are pervasive social determinants of maternal and child wellbeing. 2021-05-01 2024-05-22T12:10:20Z 2024-05-22T12:10:20Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142343 en Open Access New York Academy of Sciences Scott, Samuel; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Neupane, Sumanta; Pramanik, Priyanjana; Nanda, Priya; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Afsana, Kaosar; and Menon, Purnima. 2021. Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1941(1): 60-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14531
spellingShingle gender
pregnancy
children
marriage
marital status
equality
women
Scott, Samuel P.
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Neupane, Sumanta
Pramanik, Priyanjana
Nanda, Priya
Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
Afsana, Kaosar
Menon, Purnima
Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title_full Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title_fullStr Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title_full_unstemmed Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title_short Early marriage and early childbearing in South Asia: Trends, inequalities, and drivers from 2005 to 2018
title_sort early marriage and early childbearing in south asia trends inequalities and drivers from 2005 to 2018
topic gender
pregnancy
children
marriage
marital status
equality
women
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142343
work_keys_str_mv AT scottsamuelp earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT nguyenphuonghong earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT neupanesumanta earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT pramanikpriyanjana earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT nandapriya earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT bhuttazulfiqara earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT afsanakaosar earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018
AT menonpurnima earlymarriageandearlychildbearinginsouthasiatrendsinequalitiesanddriversfrom2005to2018