The impact of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 on birth rates amongst South Asian women in England

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 made both registered and unregistered marriages of people under the age of 18 illegal in England and Wales. It came into force on 27 February 2023. This study looks at its impact on birth rates in South Asian communities in England. There has been a non-significant fall in such birth rates since the Act. However, the present system does not detect young South Asian women taken abroad to deliver their baby or the consequences of an early marriage abroad.