Son Preference and Gender Gaps in Child Nutrition: Does the Level of Female Autonomy Matter?

Dasgupta, Shatanjaya

doi:10.1111/rode.12231

Cited by 24 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A balanced sex ratio plays a vital part in bringing out, and maintaining a stable society. People in India exhibit a strong gender preference for male child and this discrimination or prejudice continues in spite of socio-economic development and higher growth rates 1,2 . The preference for sons has been associated with preferential abortion of female fetuses and even to female infanticide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India

Kumar¹,

Kanchan²,

Unnikrishnan³

et al. 2015

Afr H. Sci.

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Background: A balanced sex ratio is essential for a stable society. Objective: The main objective of the present research was to study the perceptions of women attending the antenatal care (ANC) facility regarding their gender preferences and family composition. Method: In this cross-sectional study 132 antenatal women were interviewed in their preferred language using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results:The mean age of the study participants was 27.2 ± 4.1 years. The majority of the antenatal women (60.6%, n=80) did not have any gender preferences. Among those who had a gender preference (39.4%, n=52), male and female preference was reported by 55.7% (n=29) and 44.3% (n=23) of the participants respectively. The overall son preference index was observed to be 1.3. No consistent relationship could be established between the socio-demographic factors and the preference for gender. The mean preferred family size in our study was 1.85±0.531 and more than half of the participants had a balanced gender preference. The majority of the participants were aware that the adverse sex ratio can lead to fall in the number of brides and that it would bring about a social imbalance. Conclusion: As a developed society we need to ensure that both the genders get equal respect and are free from any sort of preferences and prejudices. To achieve this, more and more people need to be made aware of the consequences of gender imbalance and adverse sex ratio in a society.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India

Kumar¹,

Kanchan²,

Unnikrishnan³

et al. 2015

Afr H. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…People in India exhibit a strong gender preference for male child and this discrimination or prejudice continues in spite of socioeconomic development and higher growth rates. 4,5 Dey et al found son preference to be 39.2%. 6 Also, in the study conducted at Surat by Thakkar et al, 22.2% women expressed their desire for a male child and 14.4% for a female child.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inclination towards a child of specific sex during pregnancy is not a rarity. 5 Higher interest in fetal sex determination in antenatal women reflect the strong bias toward a particular gender. The present study showed that 39.50% subjects had knowledge where sex determination can be done and 52.10% agreed to the fact that it is a crime.…”

Section: But Puri Et Al and Vadera Et Al Found Higher Sonmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on compliance of antenatal care among the mothers attending immunisation clinic of Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal

Chellaiyan

Adhikary

Das

et al. 2018

Int J Community Med Public Health

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Background: Gender discrimination is the unfair denial of opportunities and violation of their rights. Despite of discrimination laws and regulations, women are subjected to unequal treatment in all the phases of their life in India. The present study was conducted among antenatal women to determine their preference, if any, for male child and their awareness regarding technology and legality for sex determination of fetus in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The study was a cross sectional study conducted among pregnant women aged 18 years and above attending antenatal clinic at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi from June 2015- May 2016. Systematic random sampling method was used to include 238 study participants. A pre-tested, semi-structured, and self-administered questionnaire was used. Data was analyzed using SPSS v.21.0. Chi-square test was applied to test significance of difference (p˂0.05).Results: Among 238 study participants, mean age of study participants was 29 (±3.5) years. About 107 (45.0%) pregnant women had no gender preference. 88(37%) preferred male child, the major reasons quoted for male child preference were pressure from family 29 (32.95%) and social responsibilities carried by male 25 (28.40%). Only 43 (18.0%) women preferred a female child. 187 (78.57%) study participants, were aware regarding sex determination and 72 (30.25%) said private hospital preferred place for sex determination. 36.56% women had knowledge about the legal implications associated with sex determination.Conclusions: The present study showed the high existence of male preference in our society which is a common barrier in achieving reduced national fertility levels. So, there is every need to bring about changes in social, economic, and political structure in order to reduce gender inequality in India.

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“…Other determinants such as gender bias, mother's education, decision making power and economic independence plays a major role in influencing nutritional status of the child (Mehrotra, 2006;Kandpal and McNamara, 2009;Shukla 2011;Dasgupta, 2013;Nair et. al., 2013;Vepa et.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the Determinants of Child Anthropometric Indicators in India Using Seemingly Unrelated Regressions Model

Naline

Viswanathan

2016

Indian Journal of Human Development

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This study uses the NFHS-3 data to estimate SUR model for HAZ, WAZ and WHZ to understand how the determinants of intergenerational transmission, feeding and care practices and ICDS vary in their impact when these commonly used measures of child nutritional status are considered together in a systems framework. As expected mother's height, BMI and anemia levels are all highly important in explaining the variations with large impact of height on HAZ, of BMI on WAZ and more widespread impact of anemia on WHZ. Initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of child's birth, exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months, and inclusion of protein rich diets for the older children has a large impact on HAZ and so does access of daily food supplements from ICDS by rural children. Other predictors such as wealth status, safe water access, sanitation and use of clean cooking fuel by the households, are found to be strongly associated with all the indicators. The results from this study strengthen the evidence that though multiple determinants play a role in child's growth the key factors are in the mother to child transmission and in quality of early child care of feeding habits and preventive and curative health care practices.

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Son Preference and Gender Gaps in Child Nutrition: Does the Level of Female Autonomy Matter?

Cited by 24 publications

References 23 publications

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India

A study on compliance of antenatal care among the mothers attending immunisation clinic of Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal

Revisiting the Determinants of Child Anthropometric Indicators in India Using Seemingly Unrelated Regressions Model

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