%0 Journal Article
%T Child-Sex Preference and Factors That Influenced Such Choices among Women in an Obstetric Population in Nigeria
%A Emmanuel C. Inyang-Etoh
%A Anyiekere M. Ekanem
%J Open Access Library Journal
%V 3
%N 10
%P 1-10
%@ 2333-9721
%D 2016
%I Open Access Library
%R 10.4236/oalib.1103005
%X <div style="text-align:justify;">
	<span style="line-height:1.5;">Son
preference is a global phenomenon that is influenced by personal, conjugal, socioeconomic
and cultural factors. Objectives: This study was designed to determine child-sex preference of women among an obstetric
population in Nigeria, and to obtain the reasons for such choices. Materials
and Methods: A 15-item questionnaire was used to obtain information
from the respondents on their child-sex preference and factors that influenced
such preferences. Results: Four hundred and fifty-three women with a mean age
of 29.07   4.70 were surveyed. Most (428,
94.5%) were married, 448 (98.9%) were Christians, 404 (89.2%) were booked attending antenatal care in the
centre, and 289 (63.8%) had attained post-secondary level of
education. The vast majority 294 (64.9%) of the mothers
preferred to have ma</span><span style="line-height:1.5;">le children in the index pregnancy. About half 223 (49.2%) of the mothers would stop trying to have
their preferred child-sex after 4 attempts. The majority (171,
37.7%) of the mothers made
their child-sex preference in order to attain gender balance in the family,
while 129 (28.5%) of them made their preference to ensure
inheritance. Mothers whose reasons for child-sex preferred were ¡°for inheritance¡±, ¡°to satisfy husband¡±, and ¡°to consolidate marriage¡± significantly preferred sons, p = 0.000. Conclusion: This study has confirmed
Nigeria as a patriarchal society, where women prefer to have male children as
against daughters, although, the trend was towards the attainment of child-sex
balance in the composition of offspring in the family. Mothers¡¯ preferences for
sons in this study were significantly influenced by patriarchal considerations.</span> 
</div>
%K Mothers
%K Child-Sex
%K Preference
%K Reasons
%K Nigeria
%U http://www.oalib.com/paper/5272813