Trends and Determinants of Sex-Selective Abortion in India: Analyzing Parity-Level Sex Ratios Using Nationally Representative Survey Data

Mahadev M. D. Bhise, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH)
Ranjan Kumar Prusty, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health
Shahina Begum, ICMR-NIRRCH

This study examines the changing patterns of birth order-wise sex ratio in India from 1981 to 2020, using data from five rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The Conditional Sex Ratio (CSR) was calculated across different birth orders, with particular emphasis on second-born children when the first-born was female, using the birth file of the survey. The study found the overall sex ratio was relatively stable over the study period, which is also true for the first-order birth sex ratio. However, there were significant declines in the conditional sex ratio for second-born children when the first-born was female. Variations in the sex ratio at birth, particularly for second and third-order-born children, were influenced by the sex of previous children. Socioeconomic factors such as women’s education, wealth, and place of residence were found to influence these trends significantly. The conditional sex ratio was more skewed towards males for women who belonged to the richest quintile, most educated groups, those from urban areas, and identified as part of the Sikh community, compared to their counterparts in other categories. This study highlighted the importance of further examining the role of fertility trends, along with women’s empowerment and education, as important factors in addressing the skewed sex ratio.

Keywords: Fertility, Gender Dynamics

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 2. Sexual and Reproductive Health, Abortion, Adolescent Pregnancies