Original Research Article
Year: 2017 | Month: July | Volume: 7 | Issue: 7 | Pages: 16-21
Imbalance Sex Ratio at Birth in Institutional Deliveries: May Reflect Female Foeticide Practice
Supriya Khare1, Akash Mishra2, BB Khare3, RN Mishra4
1M.Sc. (Final) Student, Department of Statistics, Institute of Science, BHU
2Tutor Cum Statistician, GMC Medical College, Banda (UP)
3Professor, Department of Statistics, Institute of Science, BHU
4Professor, Div. Of Biostatistics, Department of Community Medicine, IMS, BHU
Corresponding Author: RN Mishra
ABSTRACT
Introduction: India observed imbalanced sex ratio since long back because of prevailing culture and traditions. Infanticides and neglect of girls during childhood were present which are now reduced to a large extent but female feticides after ultrasound machines became available widely in practice; the reason being a highly profitable to the medical professionals and society inclined too. UP and Bihar are also among the 7 states in terms of skewed sex ratio; may be neglect of girl child or female feticide. To view if female feticide is in practice, the objective of the present analysis was framed as: to explore the possibility of female foeticide, if expected, in Eastern Uttar Pradesh based on hospital statistics
The data & Statistical Analysis: The data used for this analysis was birth record of all the deliveries conducted in Sir Sunderlal (SS) Hospital during Jan 2009 to Dec 2015. A total of 17438 deliveries were carried during this period. The data has been analysed using SPSS Software. The difference between hospital born females and born with natural sex ratio (105 males: 100 females) was tested by Z test and association of sex ratio at birth with age of mother, year of birth and the distance of place of mother was assessed firstly by bivariate analysis and finally by logistic regression analysis.ged with Wald Statistic at 5% level of significance; the reference category considered for each of the characteristics was that the closest to natural sex ratio at birth. Further, was carried to assess the real strength of association by eliminating the effect of confounding variables.
Results: A gross deficiency in sex ratio at birth was recorded in all the age groups mothers. Further, sex ratio at birth was much lower among within 30 km and ³ 250 km than those of 30- 100 km and 100-250 km. During 2012 the sex ratio was much near to natural sex ratio at birth, but much lower in rest of the years. Logistic regression indicated mothers of age group < 20 and 25-30 years observed almost similar sex ratio at birth but much lower in the age groups 30-35 and ³ 35 years when compared with mothers of age group 20-25 years while reference to year of birth 2012, the born child will be a girls was lesser by almost 12% during 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015. Sex ratio was almost similar irrespective of the distance of place of residence of the mother.
Conclusion: The gross imbalance sex ratio is suggestive of sex selective abortion and local authority has to be more vigilant through effective surveillance of Ultra-sonography houses.
Key words: Childhood, sex ratio, ultra-sonography, infanticide, feticide