Girls in Africa and South Asia are often married young and are under pressure to produce children. In Bangladesh almost 16% of fifteen-year old girls are pregnant or already have children. 75% of girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo and over half of all girls in Afghanistan and Bangladesh are married before the age of 18. In Nepal, 7% of girls are married before they are 10, and 40% by age 15. In developed nations, young mothers are usually unmarried.

The consequences of teen pregnancy are serious. Regardless of marital status, young mothers are frequently isolated, have little or no educational opportunities and are often trapped in long term poverty.
In addition to this, pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide. Although poor health care is a factor, physical immaturity increases the risks of both maternal and infant mortality. Girls under twenty have twice the maternal mortality risk of older women, girls under fifteen have five times the risk. Infant mortality is also higher among young mothers. Each year, 1 million children born to teen mothers will die before their first birthday.