World Population Day 11-7: Boys "overwhelm" girls

The gender gap is serious in our country when the current ratio is 112 boys born for every 100 girls. Despite many warnings, families still find ways to have boys with the help of ultrasound technology to choose the gender of the fetus.

like noble son

Although she is only 15 weeks pregnant, Ms. Tran Thi Dung, 34 years old, living on Ngo Be Street, Tan Binh District (HCMC) has already gone to at least two obstetrics clinics to have an ultrasound to see if her first child is a boy or a girl. “My husband is the only son in the family, so his parents really want a boy,” said Ms. Dung.

Giving birth to three daughters in a row, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai An, 32 years old in Dinh Quan, Dong Nai province, not only received complaints from her husband's family but also her husband became increasingly indifferent. Pregnant with her fourth child, but when the ultrasound discovered another princess, Ms. An and her husband decided to abort!

Ultrasound to choose the sex of the fetus is one of the reasons.
current gender gap. Photo: LN

This time, An was 4 months pregnant, and as usual, she went for an ultrasound. Holding the ultrasound results and walking out of the clinic on 3/2 Street, District 10, An shouted to her relatives: "The doctor said it looks like Dad!"

A doctor working at a private obstetrics clinic on Hung Vuong Street (District 5) said: "Although we know that the Population Ordinance prohibits announcing the gender of the fetus, women still come to my clinic. It would be strange not to announce it."

Partly because of fear of losing customers, and partly because of verbal announcements that are less likely to be discovered, most private maternity clinics freely determine the sex of the fetus. The situation of ultrasound to determine the sex of the fetus is not only in private clinics and private hospitals but also in public hospitals.

The number of single men is increasing.

“With the increasing gender imbalance, there is a risk that boys born after 2005 will not be able to find a wife by 2030,” said population experts. In Ho Chi Minh City, the gender ratio in 2008 was 110 boys/100 girls, but now it has jumped to 115 boys/100 girls.

According to Ms. To Thi Kim Hoa - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the gender imbalance has increased significantly in districts 5, 6, 8, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and Can Gio. In particular, Binh Chanh district has a ratio of 121 boys/100 girls, while the remaining districts have a ratio of 114 to 117 boys/100 girls, higher than the standard of 103 boys/100 girls.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that there are months where the number of boys born here is 36% higher than the number of girls. "There are months where out of 1,000 children born here, there are up to 700 boys" - Dr. Ha gave an example of the current gender imbalance.

Meanwhile in Hanoi, if in 2004 the ratio of boys to girls was at the acceptable level, in 2010 this ratio was 117 boys/100 girls. In the first six months of 2011, the difference was 118 boys/100 girls.

According to experts, from 2030, in Vietnam, the number of men will be in excess compared to women of the same age. And, by 2035, the surplus of adult men will be 10%.

According to Tien Phong