Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1[middle dot]1 million households Export

@article{citeulike:530755, abstract = {SummaryBackgroundFewer 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.MethodsWe analysed data obtained for the Special Fertility and Mortality Survey undertaken in 1998. Ever-married women living in 1[middle dot]1 million households in 6671 nationally-representative units were asked questions about their fertility history and children born in 1997.FindingsFor 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.InterpretationPrenatal 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[middle dot]5 million missing female births yearly, translating over the past 2 decades into the abortion of some 10 million female fetuses.}, author = {Jha, Prabhat and Kumar, Rajesh and Vasa, Priya and Dhingra, Neeraj and Thiruchelvam, Deva and Moineddin, Rahim}, citeulike-article-id = {530755}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T1B-4J0NY55-1/2/8663d55946043c1886d3d15e110f406e}, comment = {A study that reports on the skewed sex ratio in India -- the study concludes that if the first-born is a girl, then sex-selection techniques are extensively used to ensure that the second-born is a boy.}, doi = {10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0}, journal = {The Lancet}, keywords = {health\_care, medicine, public\_health, sex\_ratio}, number = {9506}, pages = {211--218}, posted-at = {2006-03-04 00:09:29}, priority = {2}, title = {Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1[middle dot]1 million households}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0}, volume = {367} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:530755 L3 - citeulike-article-id:530755 N2 - SummaryBackgroundFewer 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.MethodsWe analysed data obtained for the Special Fertility and Mortality Survey undertaken in 1998. Ever-married women living in 1[middle dot]1 million households in 6671 nationally-representative units were asked questions about their fertility history and children born in 1997.FindingsFor 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.InterpretationPrenatal 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[middle dot]5 million missing female births yearly, translating over the past 2 decades into the abortion of some 10 million female fetuses. IS - 9506 JF - The Lancet EP - 218 TI - Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1[middle dot]1 million households VL - 367 SP - 211 KW - health_care KW - medicine KW - public_health KW - sex_ratio N1 - A study that reports on the skewed sex ratio in India -- the study concludes that if the first-born is a girl, then sex-selection techniques are extensively used to ensure that the second-born is a boy. AU - Jha, Prabhat AU - Kumar, Rajesh AU - Vasa, Priya AU - Dhingra, Neeraj AU - Thiruchelvam, Deva AU - Moineddin, Rahim UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0 ER -