Consequences of Child Marriage on Maternal and Neonatal Health

The present study was designed to know the consequences of child marriage on maternal and neonatal health carried out during 2015-16. A total of 106 respondents married at the early age selected from six villages of Dharwad taluk of Karnataka state formed the population for the study. Self structured schedule regarding consequences of child marriage was used to interview the respondents. The respondents were selected through snowball sampling method. It was found that, there was significant association and positive correlation between age at marriage and discomforts during pregnancy, anemic (hemoglobin level) during pregnancy, type and place of delivery and newborn birth weight. By encouraging delayed marriages, delayed child bearing and wider spacing between births, communities and families can contribute to a healthier population.