BAJURA: Manmati Nepali is just 23-year-old. But, she has already given birth to four children.

One of her kids has already died whereas there are malnourished.

This is just a case in point. Bajura women are still unaware of the family planning measures.

Married at the age of 14, Lalpura Sanai (now 21) of Pandusen is a mother of four. Unaware of the reproductive health education, she and her children are now suffering from malnutrition.

Sanai is now being treated at the District Health Office.

Another major problem common in the district—child marriage—has added more problems as girls get married at a tender age and give birth to a child a year later in general.

This has led to a sharp increase in maternal and infant mortality rate.

In the current fiscal year, among the 2,288 women who came for childbirths, 682 women were under the age of 20, informed the DHO Information Officer Ram Chandra Yadav.

According to the 2011 census, 24,919 women got married before they were in their 20s in the district. And among them, 4,000 were married before they were 15.