Public Health Minute: An Intervention to Stem India's High Pregnancy Rate

After years of analyzing the consequences of child marriage, Boston University School of Public Health researcher Anita Raj and a team of colleagues now have grant money in hand to try to intervene to reduce pregnancy rates for girls and young women.

Despite laws against the practice, the prevalence of child marriage in India remains high, especially among rural women. Child marriage, which is defined as marriage under the age of 18, has been connected with high rates of unwanted pregnancies and maternal and infant mortality.

The proposed intervention has a new twist that takes into account the gender dynamics in India. "Counseling Husbands to Achieve Reproductive Health and Marital Equity" will be a male-centered family planning program that aims to educate young rural couples about spacing contraceptive use, delaying pregnancy and family-size decision-making. Listen to Raj talk about the intervention.

Learn more at sph.bu.edu/anitaraj.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• public health
• global health
• India
• BUSPH
• SPH
• Boston University
• child marriage
• family planning
• intervention