Sex ratio at Birth in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Nepal are the Trends Changing?

Authors

  • Shreyashi Aryal Lumbini Medical College, Palpa
  • Balkrishna Kalakheti Lumbini Medical College, Palpa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v36i1.15086

Keywords:

abortion, maternal age, parity, sex ratio

Abstract

Introduction: Sex ratio at birth remains unchanged in absence of human intervention. A tendency of skewing towards males is seen in Asian population attributable to various reasons, foremost being abortions. The decreasing number of female population is a form of gender discrimination and has serious implications for both sexes in the future. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends of sex ratio at birth among deliveries at Lumbini Medical College Teaching Hospital, Palpa, Nepal over the past eight years.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective audit of deliveries from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2015 was carried out. Sex ratio at birth was calculated and its relationship with maternal age, birth order and number of previous abortions was analyzed.

Results: The total number of live-births during the study period was 9394 consisting of 5008 male and 4350 female with an overall sex ratio at birth of 112.6. Every year, there was an increasing trend in total number of live births and sex ratio at birth. The number of male births increased with increase in parity but there was no statistical difference seen between maternal age, parity and number of abortions for male and female births.

Conclusion: The sex ratio at birth in hospital deliveries is unbalanced with inclination towards male, more so in women with high parity. Additional research exploring the reason for increase in male births is needed, so that potential programs which can reverse this trend can be implemented.

J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2016;36(1):68-71

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
1349
PDF
1911

Author Biographies

Shreyashi Aryal, Lumbini Medical College, Palpa

Lecturer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Balkrishna Kalakheti, Lumbini Medical College, Palpa

Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics

Downloads

Published

2016-10-22

How to Cite

Aryal, S., & Kalakheti, B. (2016). Sex ratio at Birth in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Nepal are the Trends Changing?. Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society, 36(1), 68–71. https://doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v36i1.15086

Issue

Vol. 36 No. 1 (2016)

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).