A study on sex ratio at birth in suburban slums of Mumbai

A cross sectional study was conducted in four selected suburban slums of Mumbai to determine the sex ratio at birth and to assess the various factors related to it. Information were collected on the sex of new born babies and other socio demographic characteristics of selected couples, including number of births, history of spontaneous and induced abortions and the preferred sex of siblings. Data were collected from a total of 302 families using a pre-tested interview schedule. There were 698 births of which 351(50.3%) were males and 347 females. The sex ratio at birth was 988 females for 1000 males. There were 84 abortions of which 60(71.4%) were induced and 24 (28.6%) were spontaneous. The reason stated for induced abortions was related to sex of the child in 31(51.7%) of the cases and in 26(83.9%) of these, the abortions were induced to prevent the birth of a female child. There was a preference for male children in the study families. Gender bias and its implications are discussed.