Since its introduction in 1979, the one child policy has had a direct impact on the lives of over one-fifth of the world’s population. The policy has influenced reproductive choice, preferred family size and access to abortion. In a country where preference for male offspring is common, and where there is easy access to abortion, it has also contributed to an excess of male births. Some relaxation of the policy has started, and this is expected to continue.

Therese Hesketh is Professor of Global Health at the UCL Centre for International Health and Development. She trained in paediatrics and public health in the UK and has extensive experience as a clinician and health researcher in Asia. She has taken the lead on a number of large collaborative population studies in China: in health system reform, the health needs of rural-urban migrants, reproductive health, and the demographic, health and social effects of the one child policy. 

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Therese Hesketh at UCL
China's gender imbalance 'likely to get worse': The Guardian's Tania Branigan discusses Therese Hesketh's work.