The relationship of gender preference to anxiety, stress and family violence among pregnant women in urban India

ABSTRACT

In this cross-sectional assessment we examined the relationship of anxiety, stress and family violence with gender preference during pregnancy among women attending antenatal services in urban India. A total of 436 women in second trimester of pregnancy were interviewed using the Gender Preoccupation Questionnaire and psychosocial risk factors, namely perinatal anxiety, family violence and stress from daily hassles, were assessed; the relationship of these factors and other sociodemographic and obstetric factors with gender preference was examined. Of the sample, 209 women (47.9%) reported the presence of gender preference either in self or in a family member, of whom 120 (57.4%) preferred a male child. Gender preference was present more often among multipara women (111/220, 50.5%) than among primiparous women (98/216, 45.37%). Overall, women who reported male gender preference were found to have both higher anxiety levels (F = 6.28, p = 0.013) as well as higher stress scores (F = 14.91, p < 0.001) compared to women who either reported preference for a female child or had no preference. Exploring antenatal gender preference both among pregnant women and family members is important. Identifying these stressors during pregnancy is crucial for delivering appropriate services to the women to prevent adverse outcomes in both the mother and infant.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender preference
• pregnancy
• anxiety
• women
• India

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Prospective Assessment of Maternal Mental Health Study team for their wholehearted and dedicated work in the research project.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Notes on contributors

T.A. Supraja is currently doctoral scholar at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India, working in field of perinatal mental health. Area of interest: women’s mental health, gender violence.

Meiya Varghese is doctoral scholar at the Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India. Currently working as Senior Researcher, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS. Area of interest: Gender studies, women’s mental health.

Dr Geetha Desai is the Additional Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry at NIMHANS. Her area of interest include mother infant bonding disorders, mental health problems during pregnancy.

Dr Prabha S Chandra is currently the Professor and Head at the Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS. She has worked in research in the areas of Women’s Mental Health and Gender Sensitive Interventions, Intimate Partner Violence and its psychological impact, and perinatal psychiatry.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research [grant number 7/7/01PSRH/12-RCH].