However, the adolescent fertility rate remains one of the highest in the world with 171 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19. The overall trend of adolescent pregnancy is presently declining which indicates that there is a reduction in fertility among the teenage group. Teen pregnancy . Table 2 shows the data on adolescent pregnancy and motherhood in 1996-1997. While the data signal an increase in early childbearing, the difference is only small because they are highly dependent on the sensitive inflation factors used to estimate the total number of women.
Women residing in rural areas are more likely to have childbearing early compared to urban areas.
Education seems to be the strongest factor related to early motherhood since girls with no education tend to have early childbearing. The high risks associated with teenage pregnancies are pronounced in Bangladesh. Here, maternal mortality rate is three to four times higher among adolescent girls under age 18 than among older women. Low birthweight is more common to babies born to these girls than to adults. For young women who undergo unsafe abortion, short-term health problems include infection or injury from the procedure such as perforated uterus, cervical lacerations and hemorrhage.