Publication:

Early marriage and reproductive health outcomes: demographic trends (1990-2025) and regional analysis of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic

Early marriage remains an important social and public-health determinant affecting adolescent girls’ education, reproductive autonomy, and pregnancy outcomes. This manuscript examines the long-run pattern of early marriage between 1990 and 2025 and synthesizes evidence on maternal and neonatal risks associated with adolescent pregnancy, with special attention to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic as a regional case study within Azerbaijan. The analysis combines descriptive demographic trend data, comparative evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and peer-reviewed literature, and a GIS-style district-level visualization prepared for academic discussion rather than official prevalence reporting. Across the literature, adolescent pregnancy is consistently linked with higher risks of anemia, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, low birthweight, preterm birth, and selected severe neonatal conditions. The regional perspective suggests that rurality, educational inequality, and persistent gender norms remain key pathways through which early marriage may continue to affect reproductive health. The findings support multisectoral policies that combine girls’ education, community-level norm change, and improved access to respectful adolescent-responsive maternal care.