Page 61 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Early marriage and infant mortality in SSA

including poor physical and mental well-being, poor motherhood. Scholars have also shown that child bride
sexual and reproductive health, and reduced educational pregnancies and births are often too early, too close (short
and employment prospects for child brides. Its continued inter-birth intervals), and even too late (Akinyemi et al.,
prevalence, despite its apparent adverse consequences, has 2015; Ibrahim et al., 2019): such circumstances indicate
inspired multiple disciplines including evolutionary and higher mortality risks for the children of child brides
sociocultural anthropology and global health frameworks than for the offspring of older women. Child marriage
to elucidate why child marriages remain common. Scholars is also associated with low birth weights, preterm births,
have argued that child marriage should not only be viewed and risks of human immunodeficiency virus infection
as a forced union or a determinant of low socioeconomic through mother-to-child transmissions. This jeopardizes
status (Schaffnit et al., 2021) but also as a viable response the health of the next generation, making infant mortality/
to poverty or poor socioeconomic status: girls marry survival a relevant outcome for evolutionary models of
early because it is the best available option for them in human life history. The study also postulates that women’s
their community. Researchers have argued that early empowerment could reduce the risk of infant mortality for
marriages tend to generate reproductive success and that child brides who can subsequently acquire some measure
parents benefit from child marriages at the expense of their of enfranchisement through education, employment, and
daughters’ best interests. Moreover, early marriages are participation in household decision-making.
viewed as the likely product of a conflict of interest between
parents and their daughters because parents desire bride 2. Data and methods
wealth at a cost to their daughters. Early marriages can also 2.1. Data source
result from conflicts between men and women as girls are
lured into early marriages against their desires or long-term The study used the most recent Demographics and Health
relationship goals. Further, it has been posited that girls Survey (DHS) data from 28 countries selected across the
marry early to liberate themselves from intergenerational four regional blocs of SSA. The selected countries were
conflicts and escape unfavorable conditions in their located in four African subregions presenting sociocultural
native homes. Moreover, early marriages could be the best differences. The surveys were conducted in the selected
option for poor parents and their daughters due to the countries between 2010 and 2020. Table 1 shows that the
limited choices available. These hypotheses highlight the weighted samples of the children of the respondents range
roles enacted by the autonomy and agency of women and from 404 infants in Comoros to 3,817 babies in Nigeria.
reveal the complex determinants of transitioning through We employed a stratified two-stage cluster design sampling
technique to select representative samples. Enumeration
individual life courses. Thus, these studies emphasize the areas (EAs) served as the primary sampling units and a
need for appropriate, context-specific policies to address complete listing of households was compiled for selected
the sociocultural framing of gender norms and attend to the EAs to derive representative samples for each country. The
practice of child marriage, and its negative concomitants analysis for this study focused on young mothers aged 15 –
(Mobolaji et al., 2020).
24 years, dividing them into three mutually exclusive strata:
This study hypothesized that a link exists between early women who were first married at ages less than 15 years
marriage and adverse child health outcomes, including (<15 years), those who were first married between the
infant mortality. Girls who marry early suffer severe ages of 15 and 17 (15 – 17), and those whose first marriage
negative health and social consequences that result in occurred at age 18 or older (18+ years). Categorizing early
poor status, low empowerment, and limited agency. Child marriages in this manner according to the age the girls
brides lack the opportunities to enjoy their childhood and were first married allowed us to compare the risks of infant
develop fully, which limits their empowerment. They do mortality between the three groups. We assumed that
not get the opportunity to develop friendships and bonds. very early marriages of girls (before age 15) were probably
Their status in their households remains low because they associated with poorer child health outcomes compared
are not granted the option of acquiring the education and to marriages at ages 15 – 17 (Kramer & Lancaster, 2010).
skills needed for future employment prospects. Moreover, We utilized the recode datasets pertaining to the children
child brides cannot negotiate safer and protected sexual and restricted our analysis to children whose mothers were
acts due to their low status or poor agency, which often currently aged between 15 and 24 years and who were born
leads to high-risk births. Kramer & Lancaster (2010) within one calendar year before the survey. Our analysis
reported that negative pregnancy outcomes are associated focused on women aged 15 – 24 years to ensure that the
with teen motherhood due to relative developmental sample was not biased due to the systematic exclusion of
maturity, limited knowledge about childrearing, and births to younger mothers. The existing literature indicates
the psychological unpreparedness of young mothers for that maternal age at the birth of a child represents an

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 55 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2411