20.10.2014 Views

Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Guarantee sexual <strong>and</strong> reproductive health <strong>and</strong> rights<br />

57<br />

Reproductive<br />

health problems<br />

are particularly<br />

acute for<br />

adolescent girls<br />

health outcomes, <strong>and</strong> multiple pregnancies at short intervals may aggravate<br />

<strong>women</strong>’s nutritional status, resulting in poor maternal health overall (Christian<br />

2003; King 2003). Because malnutrition weakens the immune function,<br />

malnourished <strong>women</strong> are less resistant to infection (Reed <strong>and</strong> others 2000).<br />

Chronic malnutrition in childhood leads to stunting, which can increase the<br />

risk of obstructed labor (Konje <strong>and</strong> Ladipo 2000). Data on low body mass<br />

index (

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!