Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - In the first nine months of thisyear, the sex ratio at birth in Hanoi stood at 110.5 boys to 100girls, a decrease from 2018 when it was 113.5:100.

The citywelcomed more than 78,350 newborns in the first nine months of the year,an increase of 3,935 children over the same period last year. Among them, 6,136were at least the third child in their families, rising by 254 compared tothe previous year.

Gender inequalitywas falling but the third-child birthrate had shown an increase, saidTa Quang Huy, director of the municipal Department ofPopulation and Family Planning.

The country's basicpolicy encourages parents to have two children per family.

With a long-standingcultural preference for boys, couples who have only daughters alwayswant a son because many believe that only sons can be responsible forworshipping their ancestors and maintaining lineage.

In fact, manyVietnamese families want to have more children, especially due to bettereconomic conditions, so they decide to have a third child.

In many cases,these families are officials or civil servants who are familiar with the State’spolicies and laws.

Dr Nguyen DinhCu, former director of the Population and Social AffairsInstitute at the National Economics University, said for a long time,people thought that the imbalanced sex ratio at birth was mainly due topoor and uneducated mothers, but in fact, this is not true.

Ha Noi Moi (NewHanoi) newspaper reported that recent census resultsconducted by the General Department of Population and Family Planning atthe Ministry of Health showed the lowest sex ratio at birthamong illiterate mothers was about 107 boys per 100 girls.

This rate graduallyincreases to 114 boys per 100 girls among more educated mothers. In richfamilies, the sex ratio at birth is 112:100, while the rate in poorfamilies is 105:100.

Appreciating theachievements of the city's population and family planningefforts over the years, yet Dr Hoang Duc Hanh,deputy director of the municipal Health Department, said it was necessary to continueimplementing measures to control the gender imbalance, particularly thethird-child birthrate.

Raising awarenessof the problem and changing public attitudes was also needed to ensurefamilies only had two children, he said. Supervision at alllevels regarding the sex selection at health facilities, especiallynon-public health facilities, should also be strengthened.

The municipalDepartment of Population and Family Planning would continue to focuson communication campaigns, counselling and direct dialogue with couples ofreproductive age, while supplying contraceptives, according to Huy./.