Your adolescent girl isn’t ripe for marriage

 In 2010, the then 49-year-old polygamist ex-governor of Zamfara State and currently a senator of the Federal Republic, Alhaji Sani Yerima, married a 13-year-old Egyptian girl, for whom he paid $100,000 bride price.

The Nigerian constitution pegs the age of consent at 18; while the Nigerian Child Rights Act 2003 forbids marriage to anyone under 18.

Though Nigerians no longer talk about the incident, the senator seems to still have an axe to grind with his critics and he chose the ongoing constitution review exercise to get even.

As the members of the National Assembly prepared to vote on certain sections of the constitution last Tuesday, the two-time governor attempted to arm-twist the Senate to reverse a vote that had sought to outlaw underage marriage.

Section 29(1)(a) of the constitution provides that “full age” means 18 years up; and the constitution review committee had proposed the removal of S.29(4)(b) that says “Any woman that is married shall be deemed to be of full age.”

Senators overwhelmingly backed the recommendation for its removal, giving the prospect of final passage if accepted by the two-thirds members of House of Representatives and two-thirds members  of each state House of Assembly.

Yerima would have none of that and he questioned why the particular section should be of interest to his fellow lawmakers. He introduced religious sentiment, describing the senators’ move as “un-Islamic.”

He argued that under the Islamic tenet, a woman is of age once married; and that if the senators expunge the clause, they would be in violation of another section of the constitution ­— Second Schedule, Part 1, Item 61 — asking the National Assembly to steer clear of issues relating to Islamic marriage.

“The constitution says the National Assembly shall legislate on marriage, except those under Islamic rites. Islam says once a woman is married, she is of age,” Yerima argued.

Senate President, David Mark, initially rejected Yerima’s argument, but he allowed a second vote after other proposed amendments had been concluded, acknowledging the “sensitivity of the matter, as it concerns religion.”

At the repeat vote, Yerima’s camp lost, 35 to 60. But there’s no cause to cheer, as the controversial section stays, since constitution amendment requires two-thirds of the entire members’ vote, which would have been 73 of the 109 senators.

Adolescent motherhood

But then, what are the health implications of marrying, copulating and giving birth as an adolescent girl? Plenty, experts say.

Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology, Oladapo Ashiru, warns that a pregnant teenager has a higher risk of premature labour and/or delivery; anaemia, preeclampsia, and having a baby with a low birth weight.

Physicians say the symptoms of preeclampsia include swelling of the hands or face, quick weight gain, headaches, having less urine when you go to the bathroom, feeling sick and/or throwing up, high blood pressure, changes in eyesight (flashing lights in the eyes) and pain in the lower belly.

Gynaecologist/obstetrician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Adebayo Kayode, says the death rate from pregnancy complications is a lot higher for girls who are pregnant under the age of 15 than among older teenagers.

Paediatrician and Public Health Specialist with St. Ives Hospitals, Lagos, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, also warns that it’s not just the health of the teen mom that takes a plunge, that of the baby does, too.

“About nine per cent of teenage mothers are two to six times more likely to have low-birth-weight babies than those born to moms age 20 or older, which can result in serious medical problems for the baby, including underdeveloped organs leading to lung problems such as respiratory distress syndrome, or bleeding in the brain; vision impairment, intestinal and other problems,” Adesanya explains.

Kayode adds, “Prematurity plays the greatest role in low birth weight, but intrauterine growth retardation (inadequate growth of the foetus during pregnancy) is also a factor.”

Worse still, Ashiru says, “The younger a mother is below age 20, the greater the risk of her infant dying during the first year of life.”

Experts say low-birth-babies have difficulty controlling body temperature and blood sugar levels; while they are exposed to possibilities of mental retardation, brain damage, and injury at birth

Physicians also warn that though placenta previa occurs in one out of 200 pregnancies, it is more common among teenage moms.

Kayode explains, “During pregnancy, the placenta moves as the womb stretches and grows. It is very common for the placenta to be low in the womb in early pregnancy. But as the pregnancy advances, the placenta moves to the top of the womb. By the third trimester, it should be near the top of the womb, so the cervix is open for delivery.

But when the placenta partly or completely covers the cervix, it is called a previa.”

Physicians say the main symptom of placenta previa is sudden bleeding from the vagina, possibly accompanied by cramps.

“The bleeding, which can be life-threatening to mother and baby, often starts near the end of the second trimester or the beginning of the third trimester. It may be severe, it may stop on its own, but it can start again days or weeks later. Indeed, labour might commence within several days of heavy bleeding,” Kayode notes.

Epidemiologist, Mr. Segilola Araoye, says early marriage can expose the adolescent girl to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. “The reason is simple: because their bodies are still very tender, their tissues tear easily, opening them up to STIs, especially where the sexual partner has multiple sexual partners.”

Troubling statistics

According to the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Population Fund Reports 2012, over 30 per cent of adolescent girls in developing countries were married before 18 years of age; and about 14 per cent before the age of 15.

The WHO reveals that globally, about 16 million women aged 15-19 years old give birth each year, constituting about 11 per cent of all births worldwide. It notes that 95 per cent of these births occur in low- and middle-income countries, Nigeria inclusive.

“The proportion of births that take place during adolescence is more than 50 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa,” WHO notes.

Again, it says, half of all adolescent births occur in just seven countries — Bangladesh, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the United States.

Experts also note that although adolescents aged 10-19 years account for 11 per cent of all births worldwide, they account for 23 per cent of the overall burden of disease due to pregnancy and childbirth.

As for Nigeria, the 2005 National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey reveals that 73 per cent of girls between the ages of 13 and 19 years are married in the North-Eastern states of Nigeria comprising Borno, Yobe, Gongola, Adamawa and Taraba.

“The number of married adolescents in North West (Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi and Niger); and North East  Nigeria make up about 42 per cent of the total number of Nigerian married adolescents aged 15-19, contributing an estimated 71 per cent of the annual births by Nigerians in the 15-19 age group,” the survey states.

At the 2013 Women Deliver Conference — a triennial exercise where advocacy organisations bring together voices from around the world to advocate improvement in the health and well-being of girls and women — former health minister and Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, lamented that early marriage might prevent Nigeria from successfully reducing and subsequently eradicating maternal/child mortality by 2015.

Being the Millennium Development Goals four and five respectively, the idea is for a two-thirds reduction in maternal mortality and a three-fourths reduction in child deaths by 2015.