Early marriage can increase maternal and infant mortality, head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), Hasto Wardoyo, has said.

“Early marriage is very dangerous. Early marriage also can cause babies to be born stunted,” he said in a written statement received by ANTARA here on Wednesday.

Wardoyo appealed to every family to plan marriages as well as possible and ensure they take place at an appropriate age.

According to BKKBN data, 20 in 10 thousand marriages in Indonesia involve couples aged under 18 years. In fact, early marriage can threaten the mother and infant’s safety—their lives as well as their health.

The reproductive organs of girls who marry at the age of 16–17 years are not mature enough to support optimal fetal growth because their pelvis is less than 10 centimeters, and this presents risks during delivery.

They can also get cervical cancer and experience tears in the birth canal (perineum and vagina), which cause bleeding.

“Preeclampsia, or a sudden increase in blood pressure that can lead to serious complications, swollen legs, seizures during childbirth, occurs in many women giving birth under the age of 20,” he noted.

Wardoyo, who is also an obstetrician, pointed out that as the pelvis is very narrow, the diameter of the baby’s head only reaches 10 centimeters.

During pregnancy, young mothers fight for nutrition with their babies because they still need a lot of nutrients to grow.

Therefore, nutritional intake in the first 1,000 days of life is very important for babies. If babies are malnourished in the womb, they will be born stunted.

“In fact, the first 1,000 days of life determine the future of a child from the first day of pregnancy until the child is 2 years old. The first 1,000 days of life is a golden period that cannot be repeated,” Wardoyo said.

To this end, the BKKBN head emphasized that education regarding reproductive health should be intensified for the public because it is a part of sex education and thus, not taboo.

Source: Antara News