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The
role of health policies and programs which fail to account for social and economic
differences as well as the perpetuation of gender stereotypes can well influence patterns
of diseases among women and should be considered. Social conditions which force girls into early marriage,
pregnancy and child-bearing and which subject them to practices such as genital mutilation
pose grave health risks. The trend toward early sexual experience combined with the lack
of information and services, increases the risk of unwanted and early pregnancy, HIV
infection, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Early pregnancy is associated with
increased likelihood of complications of pregnancy which may lead to future inability to
conceive. |
