Average age of marriage highest in JK

Trend contributing to growing infertility among women
ZEHRU NISSA

A health report has revealed that average age of marriage is higher in JK state than all other states in India, a trend that many experts feel is contributing to growing infertility among women.

Healthcare experts have been raising the issue of growing rates of infertility among women in the state and called for efforts to study the reasons that contribute to it. Although the role of late marriage in affecting the chances of conception has long been discussed in the health and social circles, the recent report adds light to the debate.

National Health Profile 2015, compiled by Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, shows that mean age of marriage for females in JK is higher than any other state.

The data reveals that 25.1 percent of women in JK get married in 20s. In states like Andhra Pradesh, this figure stands at 22.8. The all-India figure for percentage of women getting married in 20s is 23.6.

MaryaJabeen, a social science researcher, said, “This is an interesting finding but needs to be linked to socio-economic factors that have a bearing on marriage.”

Jabeen said that social scientists need to come forward to probe the causes of late marriage and then society could tackle these. “These are things that need to be addressed, not ignored,” she said.

A 2009 study by Department of Sociology, University of Kashmir, titled ‘Emergence of Late Marriages in Kashmir,’ states: ‘Poverty, caste considerations, generation gap, modernization, inflation, irreligious attitudes and behavior have also influenced the current marriage pattern in Kashmir’.

Preference of people to have a career before tying the knot is another reason that more and more people are opting to marry in their thirties. “Education and finding a job are both time consuming. By the time people find some sort of financial stability, and this is irrespective of gender, they have already crossed the 30 mark,” said AmarahShafi, who is pursuing PhD from a foreign university.

But more than the factors that contribute to late marriages, researchers feel that the report is a link between growing infertility levels and delayed marriages. Dr. Ashraf Ganai, Endocrinologist at AIIMS, feels that infertility has many causes and age is one of these. “Age worsens the chances of conception,” he said. Further explaining, he said that a growing number of women in the state have Poly-cystic Ovarian Disorder (PCOD) and this is also a factor for infertility. “We need to treat women with PCOS to help them conceive and this takes time. If the women start late, we are late,” he said.

Dr. ShehnazTeng, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Government Medical College Srinagar, sounded a word of caution. “The most fertile years in a woman’s life are between 18 and 28. The fertility curve drops with age. This is nothing new but the problems arising out of late marriages are something that appears new to us,” she said.

She further said that egg stores of women are depleted with age and this sometimes becomes detrimental for her chances of conceiving.

Even though the documented evidence on late marriages is there, many doctors feel that there is a need for documenting infertility and its various causes in our society. “There is no study that gives a picture of various fertility issues in the state. There is no study that documents the social and health fallouts of late marriages. It is a difficult situation,” she said. “There is a definite link between late marriages and infertility. What we need is a better system in place to connect the dots.”