The Older Years t age 21, she has been married now for three years to a young man she met just after finishing secondary school. He treats her well. Lately she and her husband quarrel frequently.
Early marriage is still the norm in many parts of the world.
Early marriage usually leads to early motherhood. Expectations from parents, in-laws and society are to produce a child as soon after marriage as possible. Many young wives feel pressure to bear sons. This typically results in pregnancies being spaced too closely together, in addition to occurring too soon in the young mother's life. In developing countries, more than half a million women die every year from pregnancy-related causes.