In the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries, which of the following factors was responsible for high mortality rates among women?

All of the above.

The correct answer is Option 4- All of the above.

Option 1- Malnutrition
Option 2- Death during childbirth
Option 3- Frequent pregnancies
Option 4- All of the above.

Women were considered an important resource in agrarian society also because they were child bearers in a society dependent on labour. At the same time, high mortality rates among women – owing to malnutrition, frequent pregnancies, death during childbirth – often meant a shortage of wives. This led to the emergence of social customs in peasant and artisan communities that were distinct from those prevalent among elite groups. Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was considered legitimate both among divorced and widowed women.