In today’s modern times, various technology arise which allows pregnant women to know the sex of their child even while it is in their womb, one of which is through the use of ultrasounds. But the dilemma, it was noted that there was a shortage of Asian women amounting to about 117 million in Asian countries which was due to the use of ultrasounds, according to the UN.

Ultrasound involves the use of high-frequency sound waves to create images of organs and systems within the body. This involves exposing part of the body to high-frequency sound waves to produce pictures of the inside of the body. The machine sends out high-frequency sound waves, which reflect off body structures. A computer receives these reflected waves and uses them to create a picture.

The shortage is mostly noted in the countries of China and India and UN believes that this kind of sex ratio trending will be prominent still reaching for about fifty (50) years ahead, especially because the preference for having a child who is a male is still very eminent in the society. A distinctive dimension of Asia’s recent population dynamics has been its unexpected “masculinisation” – the increasing proportion of males in its population. This can even lead to gruesome selective abortions of parents who desire to have a male child.

According to the data gathered by UN, there were about 104 to 106 male births for every 100 female births which were observed in various Asian countries. In addition, over the past twenty-five (25) years, specifically in China and India, these figures have a continuing increase in its level.

”Meanwhile, postnatal discrimination — expressed through excess deaths among female infants and young girls — has not entirely disappeared from several countries and reflects the relative neglect of female children,” French demographer Christophe Guilmoto said.

This well-known wanting of parents to have a male child has been linked to the multiple factors which might have affected the sense of sex preference that the parents of most Asian countries want for their children. These factors includes socio-economic influences and traditions which means that a male child should be the inheritor of all the wealth of the family, and a male child should be the one who will be managing all the family’s businesses and property.

“Dealing with the future demographic consequences of past and present sex imbalances at birth and their societal impact may soon become the next challenge to respective governments,” Guilmoto said.

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