Binh Giang - Typical of gender imbalance at birth

Population officer of Vinh Hung Commune Health Station propagates contraceptive methods to a woman of childbearing age.

Highest ever

According to the synthesis of the Department of Population - Family Planning of Hai Duong province, in the first quarter of this year, the gender ratio at birth in Binh Giang district was the highest in the province with 167.57 boys/100 girls (the average ratio of the whole province is 122.47 boys/100 girls). According to statistics of the Binh Giang District Medical Center, in the first 5 months of this year, the gender ratio at birth in the whole district was 151 boys/100 girls, the highest ever. Many communes and towns in the district have a gender ratio at birth of up to 200 boys/100 girls.

Thai Duong commune is one of the localities with the highest gender imbalance at birth in the district. In the first 5 months of the year, the whole commune had 27 children born, of which 18 were boys and only 9 were girls. "The survey shows that the majority of women of childbearing age want to have a third child. Many people already have both a son and a daughter but still want to have another boy," informed Ms. Vu Thi Dam, a population officer at Thai Duong Commune Health Station.

With the desire to have a son, many couples in Binh Giang district, including many officials, civil servants, public employees, and party members, are determined to have a third or even fourth child. Statistics from Vinh Hung Commune Health Station show that in the first 5 months of this year, out of 36 children born, there were 10 cases of third or more births, including 1 party member. In the whole district, in the past 5 months, 34 party members, civil servants, and public employees gave birth to a third child, an increase of 19 people compared to the same period in 2022.

The survey shows that most families who have a third or fourth child here have good economic conditions. They are families that have only one child, or only boys or only girls, and there are also families that already have both boys and girls but still want to have more children. Ms. VTH in Vinh Hung commune, who just gave birth to her fourth child, said: "The first three children were girls, so we want to have a grandson so that we will have someone to take care of us when we are old. Now that our economic conditions are better than before, raising another child is not a problem."

There are many reasons for the high gender imbalance at birth in Binh Giang. Population officials at some health stations in the district said that although no one talks about it, the idea of ​​​​preferring sons and wanting to have someone to continue the family line still exists in a large number of families who only have female children. Many couples are under pressure from their families and relatives, so they are determined to have a son. The constant development of science and technology helps couples choose the gender of their child or diagnose the gender of the fetus early...

Many women in Binh Giang try to give birth to boys despite their old age.

Not a few difficulties

In 2022, the People's Committee of Binh Giang district issued a plan to control gender imbalance at birth for the period 2021-2025 and vision to 2030. The district strives to have a gender balance ratio at birth of 112 boys/100 girls by 2025 and 109 boys/100 girls by 2030. However, the ability to achieve this goal is threatened by many difficulties.

To reduce the rate of increase in the sex ratio at birth and bring it back to a natural balance, one of the most important solutions is to strengthen communication to raise awareness and change behavior from Party committees, authorities, departments, branches, and organizations at all levels to all components of society. This work is still being maintained by Binh Giang district in various forms. The majority of people are aware of the consequences of the gender imbalance at birth, but their behavior has not changed, they still want to have many children and especially have a son. This mindset makes propaganda and mobilization face many obstacles.

According to Ms. Vu Thi Vinh, Deputy Head of the Population - Communication and Health Education Department of Binh Giang District Medical Center, due to financial difficulties, recently communication activities on population work, health care, including controlling gender imbalance at birth have been more limited than before. There are few staff working on population work, and since the merger into the District Medical Center, they have had to take on many additional tasks, which has also limited the ability to advise and organize specialized activities. Due to low allowances, many places in the district no longer have population collaborators. Inspection and examination of the implementation of the law on prohibiting the selection of fetal sex have encountered many obstacles and are difficult to implement.

DAWN