Missing Girls in India: Infanticide, Feticide and Made-to-Order Pregnancies
Author Information
Author(s): Sahni Mohit, Verma Neeraj, Narula D., Varghese Raji Mathew, Sreenivas V., Puliyel Jacob M.
Primary Institution: St. Stephens Hospital, Delhi, India
Hypothesis
If female feticide is a factor affecting the sex ratio, there would be a fall in the newborn female to male sex ratio after the technology for antenatal sex determination became widespread in the 1980s.
Conclusion
The sex ratio fell significantly after 1980 when ultrasound machines for antenatal sex determination became available.
Supporting Evidence
- The mean sex ratio for the 110 years examined was 910 girls to 1000 boys.
- The sex ratio dropped significantly from 935 before 1979 to 892 after 1980.
- The sex ratio in the second child was significantly lower if the first child was a girl.
- There was an excess of girls born to mothers whose first child was a boy.
Takeaway
In India, more baby boys are born than baby girls, and this study shows that the number of girls born has decreased since the 1980s when doctors could tell the baby's sex before birth.
Methodology
The study analyzed records from 321,991 deliveries at one hospital over 11 decades, focusing on the sex ratio at birth.
Potential Biases
There may be a risk of bias as the data could be skewed if families with known female fetuses are more likely to deliver in hospitals.
Limitations
The study only includes hospital deliveries, which may not represent the overall situation in India where many births occur at home.
Participant Demographics
Data included deliveries from a hospital in Delhi, India, over 110 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.04
Confidence Interval
95% CI; 891 to 930
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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