More and more intellectual couples are looking for ways to have sons.

(Baonghean) - The search for ways to intervene to have a son is happening more and more in urban and central areas, where there are couples with high education levels and well-off families.

Reducing the gender imbalance at birth was the theme of the media exchange night organized by the Department of Population and Family Planning in Hung Nguyen district. This is also one of the localities with a high gender imbalance at birth, with the current ratio being 121/100 (meaning for every 100 girls, there are 121 boys).

Counseling on reproductive health and family planning for workers in Bac Vinh Industrial Park. Photo: My Ha

However, this number may increase in 2017 because according to Mr. Nguyen Kim Bang - Director of the District Population and Family Planning Center, more and more families are choosing to apply scientific methods to choose the gender of their children. In fact, 60% of the cases of giving birth to the third child or more are mostly boys and that further encourages families to continue having more children.

Meanwhile, the handling of violations is "stagnant", making propaganda and mobilization difficult. In Hung Nguyen town, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh An - population specialist said: "Currently, for every 3 children born in the area, there are 2 boys and 1 girl (ratio 200/100). Particularly for the third child or more, 70% are boys. Most families have a third child due to the pressure to have a son to continue the family line."

In the whole province, the current gender imbalance rate at birth is 112 boys/100 girls and is one of the provinces with the highest gender imbalance rate at birth in the country. In particular, there are many localities where the gender imbalance rate is still very high such as Cua Lo Town 119/100, Quynh Luu 120/100, Yen Thanh 122/100, Hoang Mai Town 120/100...

The assessment also shows that gender imbalance at birth occurs from the first birth and families choose the gender of their child from the first pregnancy.

In particular, gender imbalance occurs more in urban, central areas and where there are highly educated couples and well-off families.

According to current statistics in urban areas, for every two boys there is only one girl. Photo: Internet.

Nguyen Thi Lam Thanh (Hung Binh Ward, Vinh City) and her husband had to wait nearly 10 years before deciding to have a second child. She confided: “After giving birth to my first child, a daughter, I was very worried because my husband is the only son. To have a son, my husband and I thoroughly applied all measures from diet to taking medicine according to Oriental medicine.

In addition, the couple also applied modern measures such as ultrasound, egg monitoring... The couple even chose the month and year to have a high chance of having a boy.

Also because they want to have a son, many families have found many ways to "circumvent the law" such as "pretending to divorce", asking for long-term leave from work to return to another locality to give birth. Many cases apply the method of surrogacy even though the cost is not small. Choosing the gender at birth has seriously affected women's health such as increasing the rate of abortion, inflammation, and infection.

Communication about gender imbalance at birth in Hung Nguyen district. Photo: My Ha

Despite many efforts, reducing gender imbalance at birth is still quite difficult. According to Mr. Phan Van Hue - Deputy Head of the Department of Population and Family Planning, the main reason is that the funding for the project's activities is limited, mainly just enough for propaganda, training and there is no funding to focus on policies for couples with two children, only one of whom is a girl.

Besides, although the prohibition of choosing the sex of the fetus has been stipulated in the Population Ordinance, there are no specific sanctions, so implementation is still difficult./.

My Ha