‘Total births down 2.7% in a year’: Delhi’s sex ratio dips to 920; experts flag rise in parental sex testing | Delhi News
NEW DELHI: The sex ratio at birth recorded a decline for the fourth successive year in Delhi, with 920 females being born in 2024 per 1,000 males, compared with 922 in 2023 and 929 in 2022. Delhi govt officials said the fall was marginal, but health experts sounded an alarm, saying that the trend pointed to illegal prenatal sex determination tests taking place in Delhi-NCR.The data was released by Delhi’s Directorate of Economics and Statistics and the office of Chief Registrar (births & deaths) in its annual report on births and deaths in 2024.
“The trend is of concern as there is a continuous dip now (since 2020). This indicates prenatal sex determination happening in the city,” said Arun Yadav, former director of hospital administration of MCD. “We need a continuous crackdown on these illegal units rather than sporadic raids.” Delhi also saw a notable demographic shift in 2024, with a decline in the number of registered births and a simultaneous rise in deaths, as per data released this week.Lower Edu And Higher Fertility Linked The sex ratio in the city had shown some improvement in 2020 when it jumped to 933 from 920 in the previous year. Since then, there has been a fall – 932 in 2021 and 929 in 2022. A senior Delhi govt health official said the fall reflects the low priority accorded to inspections by district authorities. He said that fewer inspections have led to fewer show-cause notices and suspensions of registrations, weakening the entire deterrent system.
The official noted that there has been a rapid growth of illegal labs offering NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing) and karyotyping through home collection services, with reports being delivered directly to patients.Delhi recorded 3,06,459 births in 2024, a drop from 3,15,087 births in 2023. The average daily birth count decreased to 837 from 863 the previous year. Of the total births, 52.1% were males, 47.9% females, and 0.03% were categorised as others, which includes transgender, ambiguous or unstated cases.A majority of these births, 96.1%, took place in institutions, with govt hospitals accounting for 65.11% of all institutional deliveries. Domiciliary (home) births made up 3.9%, and among these, around 17% had assistance from trained medical personnel, while 61.4% relied on relatives or untrained help. Urban dominance in childbirth was significant, with 88.1% of the births attributed to mothers residing in urban areas, compared to 11.9% from rural parts of Delhi.In terms of birth order, 51.5% were first-time births, followed by 36.4% second-order, 10.2% third-order, and nearly 2% fourth or higher. An interesting pattern emerged when birth order was analysed against maternal education levels. Among mothers with fourth or higher-order births, 41.1% had education levels between matric and below graduate, while 16.7% were illiterate. Only 9.6% of such births were recorded among mothers with graduation or higher qualifications, highlighting a clear link between lower education and higher fertility rates.Another official said, “Women with less education often have limited awareness of contraception and reproductive health. They are likely to marry early, leading to a longer reproductive period. Cultural norms in some communities encourage larger families, especially when there’s a preference for sons.” He added, “Also, lower education is often associated with reduced access to healthcare and fewer career opportunities, making motherhood a primary role.“Educated women, on the other hand, are more empowered to make informed reproductive choices. Thus, education plays a crucial role in promoting smaller, planned families, he said. Age also played a role, with the majority of mothers, 37%, in the 25-29 years age bracket, followed by 27.1% in the 20-24 years group.Of the leading causes of infant death, 11.6% of institutional fatalities were due to septicemia, followed by 10.1% because of heart and pulmonary conditions, and 8% due to shock. Tuberculosis, hypertension, and liver diseases were also among the top causes. A senior official said, “Septicemia is more of a problem in rural pockets when prenatal care is not taken well. Pulmonary circulation or other heart diseases can be picked up in the ultrasound and cured at the right time.“Meanwhile, Delhi reported 1,39,480 deaths in 2024, up from 1,32,391 in 2023. This equates to an average of 381 deaths per day, compared to 363 in the previous year. Of the total deaths, 61.2% were males and 38.8% females, with 0.03% recorded under the “others” category. A total of 6,866 infant deaths were reported.Age-wise analysis of all deaths showed that 40.8% occurred in the 65 and above category, followed by 18% in the 55-64 years group.(With inputs from Anuja Jaiswal)
