Reasons for disclosure of gender to pregnant women during prenatal ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of women who want to know fetal gender on antenatal ultrasonography and the reasons behind this. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out between March 10, 2012 and September 10, 2012 at two tertiary care hospitals (Dow University Hospital, Ojha Campus, and Lady Dufferin Hospital) in Karachi. In total, 223 pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic and gave their consent were included in the study. Information was collected on a predesigned questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 223 pregnant women, 109 (49.1%) were younger than 25 years. The majority (216, 96.9%) were Muslim, 164 (73.4%) were educated to different levels, 121 (54.3%) spoke Urdu, and 66 (29.6%) were primigravidas. Thirty-four (15.2%) women had a preference for a male child, 24 (10.8%) had a female preference, and 165 (74%) had no preference. Seventy (31.4%) women were interested to know the fetal gender. The association between education and gender preference was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.004) and also that between age and gender preference (P = 0.05), but no relationship was found between gender preference and gender of previous babies (P = 0.317 for males and P = 0.451 for females). Association of ethnicity was also not statistically significant (P = 0.102). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that 31.4% of women were interested in disclosure of gender on prenatal ultrasonography and only15.2% women had a preference for a male child.