In a lot of campaigns against the handing out of girls to full-grown men in marriage, there is huge talk about how the education of the child brides is impeded, or the health hazards of of an unready female body having to stomach the burden of accommodating a foetus.

However, as research continues to show, the demerits are far more. The products of such immature and unholy unions usually suffer as well.

When girls are married before the age of 18, their children are more likely to be stunted. A study found that the risk of malnutrition is higher in children born to mothers married as minors than in those born to women married at adult.

Between 2011 and 2017 when child marriage increased by 4.2 percent, stunting also increased by 7.8 percent, according to the Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

Clearly, the prevalence of child marriage influences the rate of stunting in the regions and states.