%0 Journal Article
%T Marriage-Age and Fertility Pattern among Reproductive Age Women in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria
%A Johnson Akuma Obuna
%A Nkiruka Bridget Uche-Nwidagu
%J Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
%P 1449-1462
%@ 2160-8806
%D 2024
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojog.2024.149116
%X <b>Introduction: </b>In Nigeria, one of the major reasons for marriage is procreation and married couples look forward to having children within a year or two of marriage. The age of marriage is on the increase in this part of the world. Many women are now increasingly getting engulfed in career and academic pursuits at the detriment of early marriage. Many men are also not interested in marrying women who have no job. There is age-related acceleration of primordial follicle depletion which is of great clinical importance because it is associated with a significant decrease in fecundity<i>.</i> <b>Objective:</b> This study assessed the ages of the marriage of women who attended Fertility and Antenatal clinics at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre and Smile Specialist Hospital, Abakaliki, and their relationship with the fertility pattern of these women. <b>Methods: </b>This was a cross-sectional study of 352 consenting married women who sought and received fertility and Antenatal care at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre and Smile Specialist Hospital Abakaliki, South-East Nigeria between February 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the participants over a two-year period. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. A test of statistical significance was done using Chi Square. <b>Results: </b>The age group with the highest education was 26 - 30. This was statistically significant (X<sup>2</sup> = 90.893, P-value &lt; 0.005). 40.6% of the participants were pregnant at the time of the study. The majority of the participants married in the age group 26 - 30 (41.5%). The age of marriage with the least infertility was 21 - 25 (32.9%). After age 25, infertility was noted to have increased with increasing age at marriage. The majority of the participants (31%) waited for 1 - 2 years before conception. This was statistically significant (X<sup>2</sup> = 294.555, P-value &lt; 0.005). A greater percentage of the participants agreed they married late (31%). This was statistically significant (X<sup>2</sup> = 173.007, p-value &lt; 0.005). The majority of the participants regretted the age at which they got married (34.9%), with more regrets at higher ages of marriage. This was statistically significant (X<sup>2</sup> = 129.494, P-value &lt; 0.005). 81% of the participants agreed that the best age for marriage should be before age 25. This was statistically significant (X<sup>2</sup> = 169.300, p-value &lt; 0.005). The major reasons for delayed marriage were educational pursuits (76.1%), followed by a deliberate
%K Fertility
%K Reproductive Age Women
%K Marriage-Age
%K Conception-Age
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=136040