Uncommon sex ratio at birth during the Second World War
Evidence from Poland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12447157 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Grażyna Liczbińska (0000-0002-0922-4612, Adam Mickiewicz University, corresponding author), Francisco J Marco-Gracia (0000-0002-8150-9823, Universidad de Zaragoza, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 57-80 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-28 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The History of the Family (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1081-602X • E-ISSN: 1873-5398 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1081602x.2025.2466487 |
| OpenAlex | W4408053491 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 67 |
This study analyses the evolution of sex ratios at birth in the Polish city of Poznań during World War II. The analysis is based on a sample of over 13,500 unique observations from 1935 to 1944, sourced from the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinic of the Medical University of Poznań. Logit regressions were applied to explore the relationship between the probability of a baby being male and various explanatory variables: years before and during WWII, maternal marital status, place of residence, occupation (either the mother’s or her husband’s), maternal age at delivery, and the number of previous deliveries. The findings indicate that during WWII, more boys were born alive than girls, compared to the years preceding the conflict. Among the variables examined, only birth order had a significant impact on sex ratios at birth. Additionally, the study suggests that gestational age may have played a crucial role during WWII, contributing to the higher number of live-born boys compared to girls, as pregnancies tended to end pre-term during the war. This research contributes to the ongoing exploration of sex ratios at birth under acute environmental conditions and highlights those severe conditions experienced by pregnant mothers during WWII adversely affected pregnancy outcomes
Archaeology · Political science · Sex ratio · Sociology · World War II · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · History · Migration and Labor Dynamics
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Did the Sex Ratio at Birth Reflect Social and Economic Inequalities? The Pilot Study from the Poznań Province, 1875–1913
Body size at birth in babies born during World War II
The strong impact of maternal marital status on birth body size before and during the Second World War in Poznań district, Poland
Can economic stress affect secondary sex ratio in Poland
Secondary sex ratio variation during stressful times
Determinants of the sex ratio at birth
Mother's occupation and sex ratio at birth
Did the grandmother’s exposure to environmental stress during pregnancy affect the birth body size of her grandchildren? The Polish evidence
The Spring Will Be Ours
World War II, Missing Men and Out of Wedlock Childbearing
State Regulation, Family Breakdown, and Lone Motherhood
Economic antecedents of the Swedish sex ratio
Fluctuating asymmetry of some head structures and its possible causes
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |