Preferences for the Sex of Children and its Implications for Reproductive Behaviour in Urban Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

A preference for sons or for more sons than daughters has been documented in several countries in the world. Preference for male children is especially prevalent in South Asia, East Asia and North Africa, while in many European and Latin American countries; a balanced sex composition of children is more commonly preferred. [1-4] In India, in particular, son preference is very strong and pervasive and has been frequently cited as one of the major obstacles for reducing the national fertility level.[5-8] According to this argument, if couples continue to bear children in order to have a minimum number of desired sons, they would exceed the two-child family norm advocated by the national family planning programme.