Early marriage and adolescent pregnancy in Mozambique
Abstract
Early marriage and adolescent pregnancies are prevailing phenomena in Mozambique, with 48% and 40% of girls aged 20-24 marrying and getting pregnant before the age of 18. Using a cross-sectional survey in Maganja da Costa and Morrumbala districts, Zambézia Province, and descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis, the study revealed that around 65% of adolescent became pregnant at the age of 15-17. Among these adolescent, 18.8% had their first baby before turning 15 and 99.2% before their 18th birthday. Of the respondents, 23% experienced health complications after birth. A further 71.5% said they did not, and 5.5% were 'not applicable'. Referring to their education, 55.9% of adolescents finished primary education, 39.9% completed secondary education, and 2.9% achieved some higher education qualification. When asked if they were going to school while initially pregnant, 58.7% responded "yes", 39.7% responded "no," and 1.6% answered "not applicable" as they had never gone to school. After delivery, 31.6% returned to school, and 66.8% did not. This supports the assumption that early marriage and adolescent pregnancies are potential drivers for school dropout, low education and adverse pregnancy and birth health outcomes. Girls' education can act as a protective factor in delaying early marriage and adolescent pregnancy. School retention of girls should be monitored, therefore contributing towards gender parity in education. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[3]: 114-123).
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Mozambique. Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Action. Mozambique's National Strategy for Prevention and Combating of Early Marriage (2016-2019). 2015, Maputo, Government Print.
Warner A, Stoebenau K and Glinski A. More power to her: how empowering girls can help end child marriage. Washington, DC: ICRW, 2014. Available from: http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/More%20Power%20pages%20 Web.pdf. (Accessed on May 25, 2017). p.2
Raj A, Salazar M, Jackson EC, Wyss N, McClendon KA, Khanna A and McDougal L. Students and brides: a qualitative analysis of the relationship between girls' education and early marriage in Ethiopia and India. BMC Public Health, 2019, 19(19):1-20.
Diallo MH, Baldé IS, Diallo AD, Baldé O, Diallo BS, Sylla I, Bah OH, Doumbouya L, Diallo AT, Hyjazi Y and Keita N. Maternal Complications of Caesarean Section in a Resource-Limited Country: The Case of the Maternity Unit of Kankan Regional Hospital, Guinea. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2019, 9:981-990.
Siregar A, Pitriyan P, Walters D, Brown M, Phan L and Mathisen R. The financing need for expanded maternity protection in Indonesia. International Breastfeeding Journal, 2019, 14:27.
Warnock FF, Craig K, Bakeman R, Castral T and Mirlashari J. The relationship of prenatal maternal depression or anxiety to maternal caregiving behavior and infant behavior self-regulation during infant heel lance: an ethological time-based study of behavior. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2016, 16:264.
Ganchimeg T, Ota E, Morisaki N, Laopaiboon M, Lumbiganon P, Zhang J, Yamdamsuren B, Temmerman M, Say L, Tunçalp Ö, Vogel JP, Souza JP and Mori R. WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal Newborn Health Research Network. Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study, 2014, Bjog,121(SSuppl1):40-8.
McCleary-Sills J, Hanmer L, Parsons J and Klugman J. Child Marriage: A Critical Barrier to Girls' Schooling and Gender Equality in Education. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 2015, 13 (3), 69-80.
Sekine K and Hodgkin ME. Effect of child marriage on girls' school dropout in Nepal: Analysis of data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014. PloS one, 2017, 12(7).
Plan International. Ending Child Marriage in Zambia: Gaps and Opportunities in Legal and Regulatory Frameworks. Policy Brief. Plan International, 2016, Lusaka, Zambia.
Arthur M. Casamento prematuro como violação dos direitos humanos: um exemplo que vem da Gorongosa. Boletim “Outras Vozes”, Agosto-Novembro, n.31-32, 2010.
Mehra D, Sarkar A, Sreenath P, Behera J and Mehra S. Effectiveness of a community based intervention to delay early marriage, early pregnancy and improve school retention among adolescents in India. BMC Public Health 18, 732 (2018).
Granata G. Child marriage today: which perspective for girls? Interdisciplinary Journal of Family Studies, 2015, XX 1/2015
United Nations Children's Fund. UNICEF: the state of the world's children 2017. 2017.
Girls not Brides. Addressing child marriage through education: What the evidence shows. 2018. Available from: https://www.girlsnotbrides.org. (Accessed on November 07, 2018).
United Nations Children's Fund. Child Marriage and Adolescent Pregnancy in Mozambique: Policy Brief. UNICEF, Maputo, Mozambique. 2015. Available from: www.unicef.org.mz. (Accessed on March 29, 2016).
CECAP and Oxford Policy Management. Situação dos Casamentos prematuros em Moçambique: Tendência e Impacto, 2014, Maputo, Moçambique.
Yakubu I and Salisu WJ. Determinants of adolescent pregnancy in sub- Saharan Africa: a systematic review. Reprod Health, 2018, 15, 15.
Psaki S. Addressing child marriage and adolescent pregnancy as barriers to gender parity and equality in education. Prospects, 2016, 46, 109–129.
Consórcio N’weti and UNICEF. Formative Research Report – Communication for Development (C4D) Strategy for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Marriages. Consórcio N’weti and UNICEF, 2017, Maputo.
Junod H. Usos e Costumes dos Bantu. Tomo I, Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique, Documento 3, 1996, Maputo.
Bagnol B. Lovolo e espíritos no Sul de Moçambique. Análise Social, vol. XLIII (2.º), 2008, 251-272
McDougal L, Jackson EC, McClendon KA, Belayneh Y, Sinha A and Raj A. Beyond the statistic: exploring the process of early marriage decision making using qualitative findings from Ethiopia and India. BMC Women's Health, 2018, Vol 18. 193
Adedokun O, Adeyemi O and Dauda C. Child marriage and maternal health risks among young mothers in Gombi, Adamawa State, Nigeria: implications for mortality, entitlements and freedoms. Afri Health Sci, 2016, 16(4):986-999.
Osório C and Macucua E. Rites of Initiation in the Current context: Adjustments, Ruptures and Confrontation. Constructing Identities. CIEDIMA, 2014, Maputo, Mozambique.
Gasparetto, V. Uma Antropologia de Base e na Comunidade: “Eu quero criar pontes” - Entrevista com Esmeralda Mariano – Moçambique, Revista Internacional Interdisciplinar INTERthesis, Florianópolis, v. 17, p. 01-19, jan./dez. 2020. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. ISSN 1807-1384.
Erulkar A. Early Marriage, Marital Relations and Intimate Partner Violence in Ethiopia. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2013, 39(1):6-13. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23408822. (Accessed on October 4, 2018).
Nguyen MC and Wodon Q. Impact of child marriage on literacy and education attainment in Africa. UNICEF and UNESCO Statistics. Washington, DC: The World Bank 2014. Available from: http://allinschool. org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/OOSC-2014-QW-Child-Marriage-final. pdf. (Accessed March 31 2016).
Ministério da Saúde, Instituto Nacional de Estatística, and ICF. Inquérito de Indicadores de Imunização, Malária e HIV/SIDA em Moçambique-IMASIDA 2015. 2018. Maputo/Moçambique.
Arnaldo C, Frederico M and Dade A. Tendências e Factores Associados a Maternidade precoce Moçambique. Gazeta de População e Saúde 2014, n°4, Maputo, CEPSA.
Egziabher TG, Eugene N, Ben K and Fredrick K. Obstetric fistula management and predictors of successful closure among women attending a public tertiary hospital in Rwanda:
Obilade O and Obilade O. Combating Teenage pregnancy and early marriage through non-formal early education. In: Falola T and Soremekun BH. Gender, Sexuality, and Mothering in Africa, Africa World Press, 2011, New Jersey.
UNFPA. Girlhood, not motherhood: Preventing adolescent pregnancy. New York, UNFPA, 2015.
De Groot R, Kuunyem MY, Palermo T and Ghana LEAP 1000 evaluation team. Child marriage and associated outcomes in northern Ghana: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 2018, 18(1):285.
Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Inquérito Demográfico e de Saúde 2011. 2013, Maputo, Moçambique.
Mozambique. Family Act, no.22, 2019. Mozambique 2020. Maputo, Government Print.
Bennett L. Early marriage, adolescent motherhood and reproductive rights for young Sasak mothers in
Lombok, Eastern Indonesia. Wacana, 2014, 15(1). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication.
Envuladu EA, Umaru RJ, Iorapuu NO, Osagie IA, Okoh EO and Zoakah AI. Determinants and effect of girl child marriage: a cross-sectional study of schoolgirls in Plateau State, Nigeria. Int J Med Biomed Res, 2016; 5(3):122-129.
Raj A and Boehmer U. Girl child marriage and its association with national rates of HIV, maternal health, and infant mortality across 97 countries. Violence Against Women 2013, 19(4):536-551.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.