Spatial variation of adolescent fertility and their reproductive health problems in India

Subhra Datta, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Mohua Guha, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

In India, adolescent girls are married off early and start child bearing in their teens. The adverse effects on health and social implications of adolescent pregnancies are widely recognized. Using data on ever-married women in the age group 15-19 years from National Family Health Survey-2 (1998-99), this paper tries to examine the spatial variation in the levels of adolescent fertility and their reproductive health problems in the Indian states and the relative contributions of proximate determinants. The inter-state variations in the different determinants of fertility have been depicted in map using GIS software. Among the contributory factors, age at marriage affects adolescent fertility most significantly. The effect of contraceptives and PPA in reducing adolescent fertility is negligible. Abortion statistics in NFHS-2 is very unreliable. In respect to reproductive health problems, more than two-third of the women in the north Indian states have reported problems compared to their southern counterparts.