Bangladesh has the highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in South Asia, with one in every four married teens having started childbearing. According to the BDHS 2022 report, 50 per cent of women now aged 20-24 years were married before the age of 18, and 24 per cent of women aged 15-19 years are pregnant. Additionally, one in five (18 per cent) have had a live birth. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2023, Bangladesh has an adolescent birth rate of 74 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 years. Undoubtedly, maternal mortality is the leading problem for the health sector in the country. That's why maternal mortality is seen as the proxy measure of the overall health system of a country. In Bangladesh, teenage pregnancy is one of the main reasons for maternal mortality and is a significant obstacle to reducing maternal mortality.
Teenage pregnancy not only increases the rate of maternal mortality but also causes maternal morbidity during pregnancy for physically unhealthy and unwell teenage girls. There are many reasons behind teenage pregnancy. Many academic articles find that factors like child marriage, women's age, education, and family pressure are the main contributors to teenage pregnancy in Bangladesh.
Additionally, there are other reasons for the increasing teenage pregnancy rate, such as improper utilisation of contraceptives, limited availability of sexual and reproductive health information before and after marriage, lack of family planning services, stigma when seeking SRHR services from health service providers, and government irregularities.
In this regard, solutions should address the problems and main causes of teenage pregnancy. Child marriage is undoubtedly the primary issue that should be prevented effectively. On 11th July 2024, World Population Day will be observed worldwide. The themes of past World Population Days have included women's rights and choices for their reproductive health and rights. Eradicating teenage pregnancy should now be one of Bangladesh's main targets to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.
Md Idris Ali
Student
Department of Population Sciences
University of Dhaka
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