Abstract
Introduction: Gender preference remains a significant social and public health issue in Nepal, influencing reproductive behavior and sex ratio at birth. This study aimed to describe gender preferences among term pregnant women and the reasons underlying these preferences.
Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital from August 2025 to December 2025. A total of 380 term pregnant women were enrolled using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed descriptively using PSPP version 2.1.1.
Results: Among 380 participants, 155 (40.79%) were aged 26–30 years, and 232 (61.00%) were primigravida. No specific gender preference was reported by 105 (27.60%) women, while 132 (34.70%) preferred a male child and 143 (37.60%) preferred a female child. The primary reason for male preference was social security (49, 37.12%), while the caring nature of daughters (48, 33.57%) was the main reason for female preference. A total of 268 (70.50%) women did not wish to know the fetal sex, although 239 (62.90%) had knowledge of prenatal sex determination. Gender preference was perceived as good by 230 (60.50%) participants.
Conclusions: Gender preference remains prevalent among term pregnant women, with female preference marginally higher than male preference. Social security and the caring nature of daughters were the leading reasons for male and female preference, respectively. Continued awareness campaigns promoting gender equality are warranted.
References
1. Roy A, Biswas R. A study on gender preference and awareness regarding prenatal sex determination among antenatal women in a rural area of Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. J Clin Diagn Res. 2017;11:LC05–8. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov//28384893 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2017/20380.9438
2. Dey I, Chaudhuri R. Gender Preference and Its Implications on Reproductive Behavior of Mothers in a Rural Area of West Bengal. Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2009;34(1):65-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.45377
3. Shah R. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 [Internet]. Kathmandu: Ministry of Health and Population; 2023. Available from: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR379/FR379.pdf
4. Yasmin S, Mukherjee A, Manna N, Baur B, Dutta M, Sau M, et al. Gender preference and awareness regarding sex determination among antenatal mothers attending a medical college of eastern India. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2013;41(4):344-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494813478694
5. Dawadi P, Bhatta AS, Rajbanshi L, Gautam R. Gender preference and fertility behavior among married women: A community based study from far western Nepal. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024;4(6):e0001080. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38843303/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001080
6. Thapa M, Bajracharya J. Gender preference in current pregnancy among primigravidae. Nepal Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2017;12(1):36-39. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njog.v12i1.18979
7. Kumar N, Kanchan T, Bhaskaran U, Rekha T, Mithra P, Holla R, et al. Gender Preferences Among Antenatal Women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India. African Health Sciences. 2015;15(2):560-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v15i2.31
8. Kansal R, Khan AM, Bansal R, Parashar P. A hospital-based study on knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant women on gender preference, prenatal sex determination and female feticide. Indian Journal of Public Health. 2010;54(4):209-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-557x.77263
9. Sukar-Uddin S, Ubaid F, Shahani E, Saleha F. Reasons for disclosure of gender to pregnant women during prenatal ultrasonography. International Journal of Women’s Health. 2013;5:781-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s40685
10. Mukherjee R, Bhattacharya P, Guha S, Chakraborty A. A study on gender preference among pregnant mothers attending antenatal clinic of a tertiary care hospital, Kolkata. National Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 2022;12(3):386-90. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2022.12.02078202216022022
11. Dixit K. Slaughter of our unborn daughters. Nepali Times. 2012 Sep 14-20 [cited 2026 Feb 11]. Available from: https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19627
12. Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) Nepal, New ERA. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 [Internet]. Kathmandu: Ministry of Health and Population; 2023. Available from: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR379/FR379.pdf
13. Cankorur VS, Duman B, Taylor C, Stewart R. Gender preference and perinatal depression in Turkey: A cohort study. PLoS One. 2017;12(3):e0174558. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28355286/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174558
14. Patel HR, Patel RR. Study on gender preference among pregnant women attending the tertiary care hospital, Valsad: A cross-sectional study. The Journal of Community Health Management 2022;9(3):131-135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18231/j.jchm.2022.026
15. Le K, Nguyen M. Son preference and health disparities in developing countries. SSM-Population Health 2022;17:101036. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101036
16. Magar AA, Karkee R, Upreti S, Subedi L, Ghimire A. Gender preference among pregnant women in Nepal. International Journal of Scientific Reports. 2020;6(8):316-321 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-2156.IntJSciRep20203115
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dipty Shrestha, Susmita Shrestha, Dikshya Rai, Rupika Bastola