Bangladesh

Traditionally, marriage and motherhood are of central importance to women's lives in Bangladesh. The two main religious traditions in Bangladesh, Islam and Hinduism, emphasize that marriage is a social and spiritual obligation, especially for women. As a result, there is strong cultural pressure for women to marry and have children, whereas unmarried, divorced, and childless women often experience social stigmatization.

Legally, the minimum age of marriage for women is 18; however, it is not strictly enforced. More than 50 percent of women are married by the age of 16, and 98 percent by the age of 24. Furthermore, Bangladesh has one of the world's highest rates of adolescent motherhood. One in three teenage girls is a mother.

The national fertility rate, which is 3.08 children per woman, is not particularly high. However, the fertility rate is unevenly distributed by socioeconomic class; poorer families tend to have more children than middle- and upper-class families. Approximately 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and higher fertility rates among this population has significant consequences.

Ninety-two percent of childbirths occur at home and are attended by relatives or aides with minimal medical training. Lack of adequate health care contributes to high infant and maternal mortality rates. The infant mortality rate is 57.45 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate is more than 300 deaths per 100,000 live births. These numbers are unacceptably high, and the government is working to enact policies to ensure that trained medical providers are accessible to all women.

Poorer families may have more children due to cultural pressures or ignorance about family-planning strategies. Several nongovernmental organizations work to increase awareness about family planning. The contraceptive prevalence rate is currently more than 50 percent. Although some pregnancy termination, called menstrual regulation, is allowed up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, abortion is illegal.