Hardier girl child falls prey to neglect

MUMBAI: Female foeticide received much attention after India's provisional Census 2011 data revealed a lopsided child sex ratio. But for the girl child, there could be another, equally potent killer - death by neglect. Data on child mortality rates, thrown up by the latest National Family Health Survey, expose a shocking deviation from the norm, shedding some light on the story of India's disappearing daughters.
The neonatal mortality rates - for babies aged up to 28 days - show that more boys than girls die in this age group. Across the country, the neonatal mortality figures show that around 41 boys aged 28 days or younger die for every 1,000 births, while the figure for girls is lower at around 37. Population experts say this is in keeping with worldwide trends, which show that baby boys are less hardy than girls.
But what follows is a dramatic reversal of the trend. The data for all subsequent age groups show that the mortality rates for girls become higher than for boys. The post-neonatal mortality rate, for babies aged one to 11 months, is around 21 for females and 15.4 for boys. A similar trend is seen for children aged one to four years. The poor mortality rates peak for children aged up to five years, with around 70 boys dying for every 1,000 births, while the corresponding figure for girls is around 80.
Simply put, this means that more boys die when children are up to 28 days old, but after that girls mysteriously die in larger numbers. Population scientists say that the greater number of female deaths after babies become a month old goes against the trend seen in countries where the girl child is not discriminated against.
"All around the world, male babies die in greater numbers than females, as can be seen in the figures for neonatal mortality. But the fact that this is reversed later on shows that a large number of parents neglect the health of their daughters as compared to their sons,'' said P Arokiasamy, acting director of the International Institute of Population Science, Mumbai.
Neglect, says Arokiasamy, comes in three forms -- nutrition, emotional care and health care. "Girls get less love and affection from their parents. Parents often feed their boys with more nutritional, protein-rich food, as they feel that boys will grow up to inherit their property and need to be well taken care of,'' he says.
But of all forms of neglect, the one that contributes most to female mortality is neglect in terms of health care. "This is the primary factor that leads to early female mortality. When male children are affected by diseases, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia or fever, they are immediately attended to, but when girls get sick they are often provided health care only in an emergency. In many cases, it's often too late,'' said Arokiasamy.
Ravindra R P, professor and academic head of the school of pharmacy, NMIMS University, Shirpur, says that a month after birth, social factors overshadow natural forces, leading to more girls dying than boys. He feels that, even in the neonatal period, fewer girls would die if they were not neglected. "After puberty, girls are strong enough to survive an antagonistic society,'' he adds.
Ravindra says the fact that baby girls are biologically stronger than boys is seen not just after birth, but also after conception. "More male foetuses die than female one," he said.