Key Social Norms Take-aways Social norms strongly regulate adolescent girls’ access to maternal health information by reinforcing stigma, restricting discussion of reproductive health (especially for unmarried girls), and prioritizing family and community control over girls’ autonomy. Norms around early pregnancy after marriage, reliance on elder female relatives, and sanctions such as labeling girls as “immoral” discourage independent information-seeking and perpetuate reliance on informal, and often unreliable, sources. These norms interact with poverty and gender inequality to limit agency and shape health behaviors.

Objectives To explore maternal health information-seeking behaviors among married and unmarried adolescent girls (ages 15–19) in an urban slum in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on how social norms influence their access to and use of maternal health information.

Methods The study used an exploratory qualitative design, including 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs), 2 focus group discussions (FGDs), and 2 key informant interviews (KIIs) with a traditional birth attendant and a drug seller (total n=26). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, with CARE’s Social Norms Analysis Plot (SNAP) framework applied as an interpretive lens to examine empirical expectations, normative expectations, sanctions, and exceptions shaping behavior.

Results Findings show that adolescent girls primarily rely on informal and often unverified sources—such as family members, traditional birth attendants, and drug sellers—for maternal health information, increasing health risks. Social norms and stigma significantly restrict access to information, particularly for unmarried girls, who avoid seeking information due to fear of reputational damage. Married girls face pressure to conceive early and defer decision-making to husbands and in-laws, limiting their autonomy. Structural barriers such as long working hours, poverty, low education, and lack of accessible services further constrain information-seeking. Socioeconomic disparities also shape access, with wealthier adolescents more able to use formal healthcare.

Conclusions Adolescent girls in slum settings have limited, inadequate maternal health knowledge shaped by intersecting social norms, gender inequality, and structural constraints. Improving maternal health outcomes requires interventions that address both access barriers and deeply embedded social norms—particularly by engaging family decision-makers, tailoring services to adolescents’ work realities, and challenging stigma and patriarchal expectations that restrict girls’ agency.