Determinants of Adolescent Fertility and Its Consequences for Maternal Health, with Special Reference to Rural Bangladesha

Abstract

The second section of this paper set forth a theoretical model relating adolescent growth and development to family formation patterns and their implications for maternal and child health. Subsequent sections of the paper examine the evidence to support specific relationships hypothesized in the model, focusing on longitudinal data from Matlab, Bangladesh. Despite the emphasis on developing country populations, literature from developed countries was also reviewed. The weight of the evidence suggests that in the developed countries, while there is a positive relationship between reproductive maturation and subsequent reproductive behavior, the negative effects of young maternal age on pregnancy outcome is confounded with socioeconomic factors. Teenage pregnancy, or at least teenage birth, occurs disproportionately among the socially and economically disadvantaged. Moreover, teenage childbearing in the U.S., especially when it occurs outside of marriage, violates social norms, at least in the white population. Poor diet may be a problem in the U.S. but it does not appear to result in notable delays in physical growth and development, delayed or compromised adolescent growth, or late age at menarche. Limited evidence suggests that early menarche may be associated with more rapid onset of mature menstrual cycle activity but these findings have not been replicated elsewhere. In developing countries the situation is quite different. First, early marriage and childbearing are desired and common across most segments of society. Second, malnutrition is widespread, and is sufficiently severe to delay the adolescent growth spurt and raise average age at menarche by two to three years compared with developed country populations. This is certainly the case in Bangladesh. In this setting, several observations regarding the relationship of nutritional status, adolescent development and reproduction have been made. First, undernutrition delays growth and reproductive maturation, and women who mature early (i.e., women with young age at menarche) marry at younger ages than later maturers. In addition, body weight appears to have an independent effect on age at marriage, net of age at menarche, such that relatively heavy women marry at younger ages than their lighter counterparts. Explanations for this finding include correlation between body weight and development of secondary sex characteristics, and perhaps a cultural perception that heavier (i.e., normal body weight) women are more attractive, or healthier, mates. The effect of menarche and nutritional status on marriage gives rise to concern that an improvement in nutritional status, and an increase in the age at menarche, would lead to younger marriage and first birth, and higher lifetime fertility.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Early-life nutritional effects on the female reproductive system

“…Famine during early childhood was reported to result in a decrease of 0.36 years in age at natural menopause (Elias et al 2007). Consistent with this observation, malnourished women in developing countries have shorter reproductive lifespans, delayed or advanced onset of puberty, and early menopause (Osteria 1983, Riley 1994, Kirchengast & Winkler 1996, Lindstrom & Berhanu 1999. Steiner et al (2010) reported a weak association between BW and age at menopause (HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.99, 1.20), but this relationship appears to be attenuated if one adjusts for gestational exposure to famine (Yarde et al 2013), perhaps indicating that nutrient restriction plays a large role in the link between age at menopause and BW.…”

HIV status and sociodemographic correlates of maternal body size and wasting during pregnancy

“…An additional explanation for the strong cross-sectional association between age and height is that women could have extended their period of growth beyond adolescence. It has been shown that nutritionally deprived subjects with delays in skeletal and sexual maturation can exhibit complete catch-up growth after puberty (Dreizen et al, 1967;Kulin et al, 1982;Riley, 1994). Indicators of better SES, such as a higher level of education attained, the possibility of contributing to the household income, and greater amount of money spent on food per person per day were associated with higher average maternal height and lower prevalence of short stature.…”

Association Between Age at Menarche and Early-Life Nutritional Status in Rural Bangladesh

“…It is as yet not known exactly how a pregnancy in an adolescent girl interferes with her own growth and reproductive maturation process (Riley et al, 1993). There are indications that catch-up early-life growth faltering in adolescent girls is characterized by a growth that continues longer than usual, while growth velocity does not change (Riley, 1994;Silventoinen, 2000).…”