Are your children more of one gender than the other? Are you hoping specifically for a boy or a girl? New research says that your diet may have something to do with the sex of your baby! And in some developed countries, the proportion of boys is actually falling due to dietary changes.
While I often laugh at gender prediction kits, quizzes, and advice, this is one study that actually has some science behind it, so it got my attention.
Having had four pregnancies in which three of the pregnancies resulted in boy fetuses and only one in a girl, my odds of having boys seems to be slightly stacked. A good friend of mine, on the other hand has four beautiful girls and no boys. In fact, if I look at most of my mom friends who have had at least four pregnancies, there is usually a three out of four, four out of four, or four out of five bias toward one sex or another. Is this all coincidence?
According to that research done in the UK by Dr. Fiona Matthews of the University of Exeter, the mother may influence her likelihood of having a boy by the way she eats around the time of conception. A high-energy diet that includes a lot of breakfast cereal and a wide variety of nutrients such as potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12 can contribute to the pregnancy of a boy, while a low or restricted diet is more likely to result in a girl.
The theory of explanation behind the results suggests that biologically, it may take more calories and nutrients to carry a boy, either because of the generally larger size of a boy fetus or because of some other great nutritional need. Science has already found that boys tend to be more fragile in the womb than are girls, so this may be nature’s way of ensuring a baby’s survival.
What do you think?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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