Abstract

Background: Child marriage and early confinement is a long-established custom in India. The report of National,Commission for Protection of Child Rights also mentioned the rising incidence of child marriage in urban girls as compared,to rural girls. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the burden and determinants of child marriage and,teenage pregnancy in urban slum area among women in the age group of 15–45 years.
Materials and Methods: It was a,cross-sectional center-based study carried out on 382 women in the age group of 15–45 years over a period of 6 months in,an urban field practice area of a tertiary medical college. Participants were interviewed by face-to-face interview method.,Data were analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: Nearly 83.50% of the respondents belonged to Muslim religion, 29.32%,had crossed their secondary education, and 83.50% were married. The mean age of marriage and first pregnancy was,16.99 ± 2.78 standard deviation (SD) and 18.81 ± 2.64 SD years, respectively. The mean age at marriage and at first child,birth was less in Muslims and in those who studied <7th standard (P = 0.00). Similarly, home deliveries were noted more,in Muslim women (35.50%) and in women who studied <7th standard (98.24%) (P = 0.00). Conclusion: The study noted,higher number of child marriages, especially among Muslim religion and understudied women. Women of urban areas are,still delivering children in their adolescent age group. A community awareness program should be conducted for parents,regarding the importance of girls’ education, age of marriage, and law.