Son Preference and Single-Child Families in India's Fertility Transition

The latest round of National Family Health Survey (2019-22) and Sample Registration System 2022 observes that India’s total fertility rate has reached at replacement level. This study aimed at analyzing the single-child couples stopping behaviour over all the rounds of NFHS. The study analysed the level and trend of couples with single girl vis-a-vis boy child by their background characteristics and, factors that are influencing the couples to stop fertility with single boy or girl child. Binary logit regression is used to understand the effect of predictor variables on the dependent variable where women with only sons are coded as one (‘1’) and only daughters as zero (‘0’). It is observed that over the years the proportion of couples with single child has increased. However, the increase is more with single son families than among the single daughter. The major determinants of limiting fertility with single son is significant among the urban, educated, nuclear family and the richest standard of living categories. The sex ratio is far from the ideal sex ratio at birth and highly favours the boys among those who has limited their fertility with one child. To arrest the existing son preference government of India, so far has introduced several welfare measures for the girl child. A major call on their survival is given in the Beti Bachao, Beti Padao scheme that was launched in 2015, which is the most important need of the hour to maintain a balanced sex ratio.