Babies born to child brides, a term used for girls marrying before they turn 18, in India are more likely to be malnourished. A paper appearing on Friday stated this.

Anita Raj, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health, followed about 19,000 children in India who were born to 13,500 women. These women had got married between the ages of 15 and 24.

More than 13,000 of these births were to child brides.

It was found that about 67 per cent babies born to child brides were malnourished. They had 22 per cent chances of being stunted and 24 per cent likelier to be underweight.

No major difference was however seen in birthweight or mortality between the infants of both groups.

The study published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), states that this happens because in-laws often ignore child brides and they are sidelined by husbands. They cannot fend for food for their children themselves.

"The findings emphasise the value of delayed childbearing among adolescent wives. They also reveal the need for targeted intervention efforts to support children born to mothers married as minors," Raj said.

It should be noted that the highest number of under-five deaths in the world happen in India.