Just a few months ago, in October 2025, the news of 415 teenage pregnancies and 59 child marriages in 10 months broke in Tamil Nadu.
Now, it is Trichy’s turn with starker numbers. Trichy district has recorded a worrying rise in teenage pregnancies even as it has shown improvements in key health indicators such as maternal and infant mortality. Data accessed by The Times of India showed that 834 cases of teenage pregnancies were reported in the district between April and November 2025, with officials indicating that the number is likely to reach 1,000 by the end of the financial year, marking the second such instance in the past five years. In the previous financial year, 2024-25, the district had reported 1,234 cases.
On average, nearly 100 cases are being recorded every month, amounting to three to four cases each day. Officials attributed the increase partly to improved reporting systems, but child rights activists and public health experts said the figures pointed to deeper structural problems, particularly the prevalence of child marriage.
Teenage pregnancy is defined as pregnancy occurring between the ages of 13 and 19. While pregnancy at 19 is legally permitted, health experts have said it still carries medical risks. A study published in the Tamil Nadu Journal of Public Health and Medical Research in April 2025 reported that adolescent mothers aged 10 to 19 faced significantly higher risks of eclampsia, infections and post-delivery complications, while their babies were more vulnerable to low birth weight, preterm births and severe neonatal conditions.
Former Trichy Child Welfare Committee member S Prabhu said the cases reflected distressing social realities. He stated that in many instances, children were forcibly married after families discovered a relationship, while in others, adolescents eloped and conceived, prompting families to hastily arrange marriages. He added that there were also cases of girls being married to relatives who were unable to find a match, and some who agreed to marriage because they had lost interest in continuing their education. Prabhu said that Village Level Child Protection Committees (VLCPCs) and district child protection units needed to conduct more awareness programmes and noted that the prolonged absence of a panchayat secretary to head the VLCPCs had weakened grassroots monitoring.
Former Trichy Child Welfare Committee chairman and former Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights member P Mohan said that state government data included pregnancies of 19-year-olds, which could mask the true extent of child pregnancies. He argued that there should be a mechanism to clearly segregate cases involving minors from those involving legal-age adolescents.
Child rights activist A Devanayan said that such segregation was technically simple, noting that the PICME portal already used Aadhaar-based age verification. He added that authorities should focus on hotspot-based interventions rather than one-time district- or state-wide drives, stressing that prevention had to take precedence over cure.
District Child Protection Officer P Ragul Ganthi said a meeting on the issue had been held on Thursday, chaired by Secretary to Government Jayashree Muralidharan. Meanwhile, a senior state official maintained that the apparent surge in numbers reflected improved reporting, stating that cases were now being registered in nearly all instances and that District Social Welfare Officers (DSWOs) and DCPOs had been instructed to closely monitor and follow up on every reported case.
Source: Times of India
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