THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The prevalence of teenage childbearing continues to be a blot on Kerala’s much-vaunted social indicators.
Government data for 2022, the latest to be released, show that 12,939 newborns were born to females in the 15-19 age group. Of them, 12,606 babies were in the first delivery, 215 in the second, 67 in third, 27 in fourth, five in fifth and three in sixth. Birth order of 16 babies was not stated.
Seven babies were born to mothers below age 15, said the data by the Economics and Statistics department.
According to UNICEF, early childbearing, before 18 years of age, can derail girls’ healthy development into adulthood and have negative impacts on their education, livelihoods and health.
The figures for 2022 do show a decline in the unhealthy trend when compared to the previous year. In 2021, 15,501 babies were born to females in the 15-19 age group. Of them, five were born to young mothers below age 15.
The government data also provide a religion-wise breakup. Of the 12,939 babies, 4,465 were born in Hindu families, 7,412 in Muslim families, 417 in Christian families, while 641 were from other religions.
Religion of four babies was not stated.
Also, of the seven babies born to mothers aged below 15, five were born in Hindu families, and one each in Muslim and Christian families. As many as 77.74% of the teenage mothers were matriculates.
The crude birth rate (CBR) — live births per 1,000 population — of Kerala in 2022 was 12.82 against 11.94 in 2021. This is the highest Year-on-Year (YoY) rise in crude birth rate since 2011. There were 4,39,742 live births in 2022. Of them 2,23,222 were males and 2,16,494 were females. Gender of 26 infants was not identified. In 2021, there were 4,19,767 live births.
Crude birth rate highest in Malappuram, shows data
The latest CBR data put Malappuram on top with 14.74, followed by Wayanad (10.11) and Kozhikode (9.7). Idukki (6.04), Alappuzha (5.93) and Pathanamthitta (5.55) had the lowest CBR. The maximum births in 2022 was in Malappuram (89,647), followed by Kozhikode, (47,399) and Ernakulam (39,469). Pathanamthitta (13,995), Wayanad (13,207) and Idukki (10,549) were at the bottom. Of the total number of babies born in 2022, 1,90,860 were born in Hindu families, a rise of 5.22% from 2021. The number of babies born in Muslim families was 1,42,634, a drop of 15.75%. As many as 64,138 babies were born in Christian families (rise of 7.32%).