Children dying in Syria as a result of child marriages

Child marriage and pregnancy have been causing health risks to hundreds of girls in Syria, and have led to death in some cases, a Damascus OB-GYN told the Syrian news website Snack Syrian.

Dr. Marwan Zayyat, who is a Professor at Damascus University, warned of the negative effects of underage marriage in the country.

Zayyat revealed that there are cases of girls who married and became pregnant at the age of 11.

He highlighted that should the girls get pregnant, the mother or fetus may die. Mothers who survive are likely to suffer anemia and they can undergo preterm labour.

Zayyat cited the case of an 11-year-old pregnant girl who had to undergo a caesarean section due to the disproportion between the fetus’ head and her pelvis, because she was still a child.

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Another common health risk for underage marriage is the occurrence of a rapture after intercourse, Zayyat said, adding that he has seen girls bleed to death because their bodies were not ready for marriage.

In 2019, Damascus witnessed 1,640 child marriages. This dropped to 1,297 cases in 2020 but it rose again slightly to 1,557 out of 20,000 marriages in 2021.

Child marriage in the Middle East – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]