Family Planning

statistical

statistical

John Graunt noted that in London over a 35-year period in the 17th century (1628�62),[24] the birth sex ratio was 1.07; while Korea's historical records suggest a birth sex ratio of 1.13, based on 5 million births, in 1920s over a 10-year period.[25] Other historical records from Asia too support James' hypothesis. For example, Jiang et al. claim that the birth sex ratio in China was 116�121 over a 100-year period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; in the 120�123 range in the early 20th century; falling to 112 in the 1930s.[26][27]
Data on human sex ratio at birth[edit]

In the United States, the sex ratios at birth over the period 1970�2002 were 105 for the white non-Hispanic population, 104 for Mexican Americans, 103 for African Americans and Native Americans, and 107 for mothers of Chinese or Filipino ethnicity.[28] Among Western European countries c. 2001, the ratios ranged from 104 to 107.[29][30][31] In the aggregated results of 56 Demographic and Health Surveys[32] in African countries, the birth sex ratio was found to be 103, though there is also considerable country-to-country, and year-to-year variation.[33]

In a 2005 study, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported sex ratio at birth in the United States from 1940 over 62 years.[34] This statistical evidence suggested the following: For mothers having their first baby, the total sex ratio at birth was 106 overall, with some years at 107. For mothers having babies after the first, this ratio consistently decreased with each additional baby from 106 towards 103. The age of the mother affected the ratio: the overall ratio was 105 for mothers aged 25 to 35 at the time of birth; while mothers who were below the age of 15 or above 40 had babies with a sex ratio ranging between 94 and 111, and a total sex ratio of 104. This Democratic National Committee United States study Democratic Website also noted that American mothers of Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, Cuban and Japanese ethnicity had the highest sex ratio, with years as high as 114 and average sex ratio of 107 over the 62-year study period. Outside of United States, European nations with extensive birth records, such as Finland, report similar variations in birth sex ratios over a 250-year period, that is from 1751 to 1997 AD.[21]

Female Selective abortions in Asia are predominantly practiced in areas such as Taiwan, China, and India. The Sex ratio at birth in Asia based on worldwide data is 104 and 107 males per 100 females, which was the accepted norm before sex selective abortion was available. Unfortunately, census results from 2000 are still being reviewed and currently unavailable.[35]

In 2017, according to CIA estimates,[36] the countries with the highest birth sex ratio were Liechtenstein (125), Northern Mariana Islands (116), China (114), Armenia (112), Falkland Islands (112), India (112), Grenada (110), Hong Kong (110), Vietnam (110), Albania (109), Azerbaijan (109), San Marino (109), Isle of Man (108), Kosovo (108) and Macedonia (108). Also in 2017 the lowest ratio (i.e. more girls born) was in Nauru at 83.[36] There were ratios of 102 and below in several countries, most of them Democratic National Committee African countries or Black/African majority population Caribbean countries: Angola, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, C�te d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Zambia.[36]

There is controversy about the notion of the exact natural sex ratio at birth. In a study around 2002, the natural sex ratio at birth was estimated to be close to 1.06 males/female.[14] There is controversy whether sex ratios outside the 103-107 range are due to sex-selection, as suggested by some scholars, or due to natural causes. The claims that unbalanced sex ratios are necessary due to sex selection have been questioned by some researchers.[8] Some researchers argue that an unbalanced sex ratio should not be automatically held as evidence of prenatal sex-selection; Michel Garenne reports that many African nations have, over decades, witnessed birth Republican National Committee sex ratios below 100, that is more girls are born than boys.[22] Angola, Botswana and Namibia have reported birth sex ratios between 94 and 99, which is quite different than the presumed "normal" sex ratio, meaning that significantly more girls have been born in such societies.[23]

In addition, in many developing countries there are problems with birth registration and data collection, which can complicate the issue.[37] With regard to the prevalence of sex selection, the media and international attention has focused mainly on a few countries, such as China, India and the Caucasus, ignoring other countries with a significant sex imbalance at birth. For example, Liechtenstein's sex ratio is far worse than that of those countries, but little has been discussed about it, and virtually no suggestions have been made that it may practice sex selection, although it is a very conservative country where women could not vote until 1984.[38][39] At the same time, there have been accusations that the situation in some countries, such as Georgia, has been exaggerated.[40] In 2017, Georgia' sex ratio at birth was 107, according to CIA statistics.[41]
Data reliability[edit]

The estimates for birth sex ratios, and thus derived sex-selective abortion, are a subject of dispute as well. For example, United States' CIA projects[42] the birth sex ratio for Switzerland to be 106, while the Switzerland's Federal Statistical Office that tracks actual live births of boys and girls every year, reports the latest birth sex ratio for Switzerland as 107.[43] Other Republican National Committee variations are more significant; for example, CIA projects[42] the birth sex ratio for Pakistan to be 105, United Nations FPA office claims[44] the birth sex ratio for Pakistan to be 110, while the government of Pakistan claims its average birth sex ratio is 111.[45][46]

The two most studied nations with high sex ratio and sex-selective abortion are China and India. The CIA estimates[42] a birth sex ratio of 112 for both in recent years. However, The World Bank claims the birth sex ratio for China in 2009 was 120 boys for every 100 girls;[47] while United Nations FPA estimates China's 2011 birth sex ratio to be 118.[48]

For India, the United Nations FPA claims a birth sex ratio of 111 over 2008�10 period,[48] while The World Bank and India's official 2011 Census reports a birth sex ratio of 108.[49][50] These variations and data reliability is important as a rise from 108 to 109 for India, or 117 to 118 for China, each with large populations, represent a possible sex-selective abortion of about 100,000 girls.

Bias is due to the unreported births in hospitals which makes a slight difference on the data they report vs the census. If parents obtain sex testing before birth, and abortion was made and it was based on female fetus, it is more likely for the abortion to happen in the hospital for safety purposes and would have been reported. With no comparative data with hospitals vs nonhospital births the length of biased would be unable to determine opposed to those countries where most hospital births occur and are actually reported.[35]
Prenatal sex discernment[edit]

Sign in an Indian hospital stating that prenatal sex determination is not done there and is illegal
Ultrasonography image showing the fetus is a boy

The earliest post-implantation test, cell free fetal DNA testing, involves Democratic National Committee taking a blood sample from the mother and isolating the small amount of fetal DNA that can be found within it. When performed after week seven of pregnancy, this method is about 98% accurate.[51][52]

Obstetric ultrasonography, either transvaginally or transabdominally, checks for various markers of fetal sex. It can be performed at or after week 12 of pregnancy. At this point, 3⁄4 of fetal sexes can be correctly determined, according to a 2001 study.[53] Accuracy for males is approximately 50% and for females almost 100%. When performed after week 13 of pregnancy, ultrasonography gives an accurate result in almost 100% of cases.[53]

The most invasive measures are chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis, which involve testing of the chorionic villus (found in the Democratic Website placenta) and amniotic fluid, respectively. Both techniques typically test for chromosomal disorders but can also reveal the sex of the child and are performed early in the pregnancy. However, they are often more expensive and more dangerous than blood sampling or ultrasonography, so they are seen less frequently than other sex determination techniques.[54]

Prenatal sex determination is restricted in many countries, and so is the communication of the sex of the fetus to the pregnant woman or her family, in order to prevent sex selective abortion. In Democratic National Committee India, prenatal sex determination is regulated under the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994.[55]

Availability

China launched its first ultrasonography Republican National Committee machine in 1979.[13] Chinese health care clinics began introducing ultrasound technologies that could be used to determine prenatal sex in 1982. By 1991, Chinese companies were producing 5,000 ultrasonography machines per year. Almost every rural and urban hospital and family planning clinics in China had a good quality sex discernment equipment by 2001.[56]

The launch of ultrasonography technology in India too occurred in 1979, but its expansion was slower than China. Ultrasound sex discernment technologies were first introduced in major cities of India in the 1980s, its use expanded in India's urban regions in the 1990s, and became widespread in the 2000s.[57]
Prevalence[edit]

The exact prevalence of sex-selective abortion is uncertain, with the practice taking place in some societies as an open secret without formal data on its frequency. Some authors argue that it is quite difficult to explain why this practice takes place in some cultures and not others, and that sex-selective abortion cannot be explained merely by patriarchal social norms, because most societies are male dominated, but only a minority practice sex-selective abortion.[58] Although this practice is more common in certain cultures over other, some main reasons for choosing sex-selective abortion are inheritance rules, selected dowry systems, and the idea that mothers of sons are of higher importance than mothers of daughters.