Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1.1 million households

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dc.contributor.authorJha, P
dc.contributor.authorKumar, R
dc.contributor.authorVasa, P
dc.contributor.authorDhingra, N
dc.contributor.authorThiruchelvam, D
dc.date.accessioned2012-07-23T19:56:35Z
dc.date.available2012-07-23T19:56:35Z
dc.date.issued2006-01
dc.description.abstractBackground: Fewer girls than boys are born in India. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain this low sex ratio. Our aim was to ascertain the contribution of prenatal sex determination and selective abortion as measured by previous birth sex. Methods: We analysed data obtained for the Special Fertility and Mortality Survey undertaken in 1998. Ever-married women living in 1.1 million households in 6671 nationally-representative units were asked questions about their fertility history and children born in 1997. Findings: For the 133 738 births studied for 1997, the adjusted sex ratio for the second birth when the preceding child was a girl was 759 per 1000 males (99% CI 731—787). The adjusted sex ratio for the third child was 719 (675—762) if the previous two children were girls. By contrast, adjusted sex ratios for second or third births if the previous children were boys were about equal (1102 and 1176, respectively). Mothers with grade 10 or higher education had a significantly lower adjusted sex ratio (683, 610—756) than did illiterate mothers (869, 820—917). Stillbirths and neonatal deaths were more commonly male, and the numbers of stillbirths were fewer than the numbers of missing births, suggesting that female infanticide does not account for the difference. Interpretation: Prenatal sex determination followed by selective abortion of female fetuses is the most plausible explanation for the low sex ratio at birth in India. Women most clearly at risk are those who already have one or two female children. Based on conservative assumptions, the practice accounts for about 0·5 million missing female births yearly, translating over the past 2 decades into the abortion of some 10 million female fetuses.en
dc.formatTexten
dc.format.extentp. 211-218en
dc.identifier.citationJha, P., Kumar, R., Vasa, P., Dhingra, N., Thiruchelvam, D., & Moineddin, R. (2006). Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1.1 million households. The Lancet, 367 (9506): 211-218. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0en
dc.identifier.issn0140-6736
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10625/49850
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectSEX DISTRIBUTIONen
dc.subjectBIRTH RATEen
dc.subjectSELECTIVE ABORTIONen
dc.subjectGENDER DISCRIMINATIONen
dc.subjectINDIAen
dc.titleLow male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1.1 million householdsen
dc.typeAbstracten
idrc.dspace.accessIDRC Onlyen
idrc.noaccessDue to copyright restrictions the full text of this research output is not available in the IDRC Digital Library or by request from the IDRC Library. / Compte tenu des restrictions relatives au droit d'auteur, le texte intégral de cet extrant de recherche n'est pas accessible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI, et il n'est pas possible d'en faire la demande à la Bibliothéque du CRDI.en
idrc.project.number102172
idrc.project.titleOperational Research: Canadian International Immunization Initiative - Phase II (CIII2)en
idrc.rims.adhocgroupIDRC SUPPORTEDen

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IDRC Research Results / Résultats de recherches du CRDI
2000-2009 / Années 2000-2009
Canadian International Immunization Initiative (CIII2) / l’initiative canadienne d’immunisation internationale
Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) / la santé de la mère, du nouveau-né, et de l’enfant
Research Results (GHRI) / Résultats de recherches (IRSM)