Were girl babies sacrificed to a folk superstition in 1966 in Japan?
Although it was expected by observers in Japan that the potency of belief in the superstition of the year of Fire-horse would be made apparent by a decrease in births and an increase of the induced abortion rate, an increase of infant mortality rate was not anticipated. However, an analysis of the early neonatal mortality rate of accidents and violence revealed a remarkable increase for girls but not for boys in 1966, the most recent year of Fire-horse. This fact is consistent with the superstition that women born in the year of Fire-horse are ill-fated.
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007237:Infanticide; D007564:Japan; D012737:Sex Factors; D013483:Superstitions