By Dave Andrusko
Dr. Marcelo Urquia
A study published Monday in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada documents that for Indian women migrating to Canada, a preference for boys over girls does not diminish, regardless of how long they have lived in Canada, the Globe and Mail reported.
Researchers analyzed birth records in Ontario hospitals of women born in India who had delivered up to three live births for the period between April 1993, and March 2014. They found that women having their third child who already had two daughters were found to have given birth to almost twice as many baby boys (192) as baby girls (100), according to the newspaper.
“The sex ratios are so distorted, they cannot be explained by natural causes, Dr. Marcelo Urquia said,” according to Karen Howlett. Dr. Urquia, the lead author, is a research scientist at the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Health Policy.
“Across the globe, by comparison, the odds of having a boy over a girl are slightly higher: 107 boys for every 100 girls,” Howlett explained. “The study builds on previous research led by Dr. Urquia that found a deficit in Canada of more than 4,400 girls over two decades.”
As you would expect, the chances of sex-selection abortion dramatically increase in the second trimester when the baby’s sex can be determined.
Dr. Urquia told Howell, “We know that the longer immigrants are in Canada, the more likely they are to align to the host country.” The “entrenched” preference for boys is “counterintuitive,” he added.
The study also found that the disparity is dramatically higher among women whose mother tongue was Punjabi: 240 boys to 100 girls–almost 2 ½ to 1. “The ratio of males to females did not differ according to when women arrived in Canada,” Howell reported.