In addition to barriers to education, child brides… are at a higher risk of life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Statistics prove that younger girls’ vulnerability to prolonged labor, obstetric fistula, or maternal death is significantly higher than older women whose bodies are fully developed. South Sudan currently has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, approximately 2,054 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births.
The UN places the number of girls under 18 married each year at 14 million.