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Bhubaneswar, April 24: Nearly 2.9 lakh girls between 15 to 19 years of age in the state are married, and 11,000 girls get pregnant before attaining the age of 15 in Orissa, revealed a report by Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) here Friday.
Child marriage or early marriage has become a serious cause of concern for society, as it leads to serious health complications both for boys and girls. Of the 2.9 lakh minors who are married, over 65,000 girls have given birth to one child, over 12,000 girls have had two children, nearly 4,400 girls have had three children and around 5,500 girls have given birth four times or more.
“There has been a decline in the incidences of child marriages in nearly all states, but the pace of change remains slow. It has to be curtailed with the help of education and sensitization, failing which there will be terrible health consequences for children,” said Biswaranjan Purohit, VHAI project coordinator.
“Early marriages are also responsible for increasing maternal and infant mortality rates in the state. As per the new data of 2014, Kendrapara remains at the bottom with 719 girls per 1,000 boys followed by Ganjam, with 794 girls,” said Dilip Samal, executive director, VHAI.
According to health experts, teenage mothers are at higher risk than women over the age of 20 for pregnancy complications such as premature labour, anaemia and high blood pressure. Teenage mothers are also at twice the risk of dying in labour than older women, and are also more susceptible to contracting sexually transmitted diseases by getting married early.
