Traditions and reproductive technology in an urbanizing north Indian village

Khanna, Sunil K.

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00144-x

Cited by 59 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Sex determination and selective abortion grew in India during the late 1980s due to an increased availability of ultrasound machines [7,8,31,32]. In Québec, the practice may have become less prevalent in the late 1990s when prenatal sex determination was banned in India in 1994 [6,33,34], despite the fact that sex selection continued to occur in India.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sex ratio patterns according to Asian ethnicity in Québec, 1981–2004

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Elevated ratios of male to female births are emerging in Asian countries due to selective abortion of female foetuses. Little research has evaluated the possibility of sex selection among Asians in the West. We evaluated patterns in the secondary sex ratio (SSR, number of male per 100 female births) according to ethnicity in Québec, Canada. We performed a population-based retrospective analysis of live and still births in urban Québec, 1981-2004 (N = 1,612,614 live births). Outcomes included: (1) first and second order SSR over four consecutive 6-year intervals analysed according to parental mother tongue, parental birth region, and mothers still speaking her mother tongue at home, (2) adjusted relative risk (RR) of female birth by parental ethnicity, and (3) estimated number of unborn females. For the period 1987-1992, first order SSRs were elevated (range 118-121) for Indo-Pakistani parental mother tongue and mothers currently speaking Indo-Pakistani at home. Second order SSRs were not elevated. For Indo-Pakistani mother tongues, the RR of female birth was lower than French/English in the same period (adjusted RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-0.99). SSRs were not imbalanced in the late 1990s among Indo-Pakistani parents, or among Chinese ethnicity in any study period. The SSR in Québec was elevated in the 1980s and early 1990s among firstborn relative to subsequent born infants of Indo-Pakistani descent. The reason for this imbalance is unclear. Further research in other Western settings is necessary to evaluate the possibility of sex selection.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The emergence of prenatal sex determination techniques followed by selective abortion of female foetuses has been identified as the main cause of rising SSRs [4,[6][7][8]. In India, official SSRs are not calculated because of incomplete birth registration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex ratio patterns according to Asian ethnicity in Québec, 1981–2004

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bride-sharing is a custom in which multiple men, typically related, share the same woman as wife. This practice can lead to increased maternal mortality rates and sexrelated violence (Khanna 1997). Furthermore, a dearth of women has also been linked with the ''exclusion of women from education and decision-making,'' as well as the ''objectification of women for reproduction purposes'' (Bose 1994).…”

Section: Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, any lands given to a son will most likely remain within the family (Bandyopadhyay 2003). In agrarian societies, sons are desirable as hands to work the field, and small towns value sons as an asset in the fight against the ''encroaching urban society'' (Khanna 1997). In addition, many couples depend on a son to care for them in their old age and assist in the financial stability of the family (Sheth 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of educational level and child sex ratio in rural and urban India

Inchani

Lai

2007

Soc Indic Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a study in rural China, of 820 women surveyed, 36% of the 301 who reported induced abortions (109) acknowledged them to be female sex-selective abortions [18]. Evidence suggests that such abortions are being used predominantly by those with one or more living daughters, but no living sons [16,17,19]. However, one study in North India found distortions in the sex ratio even among first births [20] and over a quarter of the women having sex selective abortions in a study in western India already had a living son [17].…”

Section: The Use Of Sex Selection Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%