Ultrasounds

Ultrasounds

Ultrasounds have been around for quite some time. They are used for different reasons around the world. Unfortunately, sometimes this medical invention is used for more than just curiosity. Some people rely on these ultrasounds to help them make the ultimate decision. In countries such as India, it is very important to the parent's economic stability to bear healthy children, especially males. In China, the desire to bear sons and only sons brings on a new meaning to the purpose of the ultrasound. The motive behind the people of India and the people of China for obtaining the sex of the fetus clearly identifies the social and economic importance of bearing male offspring.

Chitra Divakaruni portrays the motives for ultrasounds in India through her story "The Ultrasound". There are several instances referenced on the importance of having a healthy child. "There's a history of birth defects in my family - just one or two, but it's enough to worry us" (204). Divakaruni also suggests that abnormal children are often hidden away from public view. "What would we do if something turned out wrong with the baby. I think of the drooling boy with Albino eyes who used to be kept hidden in a small room in the dark and crumbly Calcutta mansion where another aunt lived" (208). Divakaruni in addition portrays the importance of your first born child to be of the male gender: "My mother-in-law says it's not fitting that the eldest child of the Bhattacharjee household should be female". The social stigma of a first born being of the female gender is shown by the mother-in-law's words.

Traditionally in India, the men are the dominant members of the family. They make all the important decisions in the family and are the primary money provider. A bride's parents take this tradition very seriously. When woman are arranged by their parents to marry a man, they are required to stay with him no matter what.

I called my mother just before I called you. She says it's not right that I should leave my husband's home. My place is with them, for better or worse. She's afraid they'll never take me back if I move out, and then what would happen to me? People will think they threw me out because I did something bad. They'll think my baby's a bastard... (225).

Male offspring bring more economic stability for their families when they grow older by not only being more skilled but also inheriting the money of the family of the woman he married.

In China, there is also preference of son's compared to daughters as is seen in Erik Eckholm's article, "Desire for Sons Drives Use of Prenatal Scans in China". "Decades of Communist rule and recent pell-mell development, far from uprooting the male bias in the Chinese countryside, have yielded new pressures to have sons" (3). This can be a reaction to the men being more skilled and having more ability to take care of the whole family. "If you have a son who