Where the outcome is not fatal, such births are extremely painful and can lead to hemorrhage and infection, sometimes leaving the mother permanently crippled, it adds. The documents notes that early marriage and childbearing also impede young women's educational and employment opportunities. Guatemala is one of only four countries in the Americas where mothering young is on the rise. Currently the birth rate for women 15 to 19 years of age is 123 births per 1,000 women. In most Latin American countries this rate has remained stable and worldwide the trend is towards bearing children later in life.
Unsafe abortions are also a leading killer of women.
Some 6,000 Latin American women die each year as a result. Abortions are illegal unless the mother's life is in danger.