Diet before pregnancy can affect baby's gender.

Although the DNA in sperm determines sex, it seems that in the never ending battle of the sexes mothers can favour the development of one sex of infant rather than another, a faculty that nature uses to fine tune the sex ratio in Stone Age days to suit times of feast and famine, says the team from the Universities of Exeter and Oxford.

This is topic Healthy Diet Produces Baby Boys in forum After Tubal Reversal at Tubal Reversal Message Board.
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Posted by Gary S Berger MD (Member # 3) on April 23, 2008 08:45 PM:

Here's a news story I thought everyone would find interesting! It was published today in MedHeadlines:

Mother's diet can help determine sex of children

"A joint study conducted by researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Exeter has turned up the tantalizing evidence that a child's gender might be determined by mother's diet around the time of conception.

If this is true, it goes a long way in solving the mystery of why there is a decreasing number of male babies born each year in the industrialized nations of the world, including the United States, Canada, and the UK.

The UK research team involved dietary analysis of 740 women pregnant with their first child. None of the women knew what their child-to-be's gender was. The mothers supplied the researchers with records of their dietary intake just before conception and throughout their pregnancies.

Using dietary intake as a measure, the mothers were divided into three groups according to their energy (caloric) intake around the time of conception. Of the group consuming the highest-energy diet, 56% had boy babies. The lowest-energy group produced only 45% boys.

The highest-energy group not only consumed the most calories, they typically consumed a very nutritious diet, too. The foods they ate were of better quality, providing a healthy level of nutrients. The foods eaten were rich in Vitamins C, E, and B12 as well as calcium and potassium. The mothers producing sons also consumed a breakfast of cereal on a routine basis.

The rate of male births has declined over the past 40 years. The drop in numbers is about one less male baby per 1,000 births each year. There is a corresponding drop in caloric (energy) intake in the typical diet of the industrialized world, which contributes to the current obesity epidemic these same countries are now facing.

Breakfast doesn't seem to be very important anymore to many people in the industrial world and many adults regularly skip breakfast. In 1965, 86% of Americans said they ate breakfast regularly. By 1991, the breakfast eaters had dropped to only 75%.

The very close association between mom's diet at conception through to the earliest stage of pregnancy and her baby's gender is a phenomenon found in nature, too, and may have evolved as a means of producing descendants. In many cultures around the world and throughout time, male offspring has been preferred, possibly because sons are capable of producing more offspring themselves than daughters can. The children born to families of high status within a society typically bear more sons than daughters and they enjoy an ample diet higher in quality and nutrients than the average family within a given community."

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Posted by albmdb (Member # 12062) on April 23, 2008 09:04 PM:

Thanks Dr.Berger
leann sc tr 4/7/08
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Posted by donnavan (Member # 12094) on April 23, 2008 09:14 PM:

Thanks Dr B for all the Info you put out for us I just popped on and wanted to thank you again for everything Donna TR 3-13-2008
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Posted by Tarebear38 (Member # 9544) on April 23, 2008 09:24 PM:

Thank you Dr. B - If we get to have a baby, we'd want it to be a son, so this is interesting.
Tara
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Posted by JoHannah (Member # 11818) on April 23, 2008 09:32 PM:

Very interesting read Dr. B. thanks so much for sharing! -Jo
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Posted by PaulnJenn (Member # 10984) on April 23, 2008 09:48 PM:

Very interesting Dr. B!

So if I stick to my diet of Doritoes and dough nuts ...I will get my girl?

J/K J/K J/K

Jenn
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Posted by Brandi (Member # 3653) on April 23, 2008 10:13 PM:

LOL @ Jenn......you are too funny!!!

Thanks for the post Dr. Berger. I have 3 girls, so I'm hoping for a boy this time around.
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Posted by still at it (Member # 9409) on April 24, 2008 08:41 AM:

Well, with this PG I find I do not like the taste of anything, but I am gravitating towards junk! And I am hoping for a little girl!

My first PG I ate healthy and had a boy,
second ate everything in site and had a boy,
third ate nothing and had a girl,
fourth ate nothing and had a boy,
and fifth ate everything and had a girl.

So I'm all messed up!

Take care
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Posted by Karen M (Member # 11869) on April 24, 2008 08:46 AM:

lol @ PaulnJenn........ yea im thinkin if this is true I just might get my girl after all!
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Posted by MichelleToo (Member # 12330) on April 24, 2008 10:01 AM:

Before you run out to buy breakfast cereal to conceive a boy, I just wanted to let you know that I have eaten breakfast cereal everyday of my life (41 years now) and made three girls

I have to be honest and say that I am a bit skeptical of this study. Probably, I should go read the original report, but from the article, I have a few questions.... Can anyone explain this to me? "There is a corresponding drop in caloric (energy) intake in the typical diet of the industrialized world, which contributes to the current obesity epidemic these same countries are now facing." It seems to me that More Calories = Obesity Epidemic. How does it make sense that Less Calories = Obesity Epidemic?

And if More Calories = Boys and we (as a society) are eating high calorie diets and having an obesity epidemic, then why is there the reported shortage of boy babies?

I feel like I'm missing the big picture

Have a great day ~ Michelle
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Posted by Amy1234 (Member # 5192) on April 24, 2008 10:11 AM:

I don't really buy it either. They come up with crazy studies all the time, lol!
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Posted by Mornahh (Member # 12265) on April 24, 2008 10:16 AM:

I can't remember what on earth i ate, i have a boy of 20, a girl of 19 and another boy of 15!
I would'nt mind what I got....... I'd just like a second chance... and god knows whats going on.. my cycle has gone mad .last one was down to 22 days!

Morna xxxx
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Posted by Andie (Member # 8626) on April 24, 2008 10:33 AM:

I thought whether or not the sperm was an X or Y determined gender?
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Posted by MichelleToo (Member # 12330) on April 24, 2008 11:20 AM:

Andie,
Yes, you are correct. The mom carries only X eggs, so if sperm X gets there it is XX = Girl and if sperm Y gets there, it is XY = Boy.

However, there are differences in the X sperm and Y sperm. The Y sperm tends to be smaller and faster and may get up the tubes faster. If the egg is there, it would fertilize first. If the egg isn't there, they would die off.

The X sperm tend to be bigger and slower, so they make it up the tubes after the Y sperm. So if the Ys died and the egg pops later, the Y will be there to fertilize the egg and make a baby girl.

Because of these differences in the X and Y sperm, I think that the idea is that conditions in the mother's body could prove more favorable to one over the other.

Here's a funny story: When I was pregnant with my second daughter, the ob/gyn was doing the sonogram and said that he hoped we weren't trying for a boy and wouldn't be disappointed because it was another girl. My husband and I said that we were very happy with another girl! Then my ob/gyn said, "Do you know what you need to do if you want a boy?" My husbands eyes lit up and you could tell that he was waiting for some interesting BD pointers My ob/gyn looked straight at me and said, "You need to change husbands!" LOL (This was in Italy. I don't think a US Dr. would say this). Well, I have kept my husband and we went on to make a third girl!
~Michelle
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Posted by PaulnJenn (Member # 10984) on April 24, 2008 04:17 PM:

Here is something to think about:

I am sure that some foods can create a 'acidy' or create more of an akaline base in our CM. I know in the Shettle's method for a girl....

"The pH of the women's tract is also very important. A more acidic environment favors girls, since it will kill the weaker y-sperms first, leaving a greater quantity of x-sperms available to fertilize the egg. On the other hand, a more alkaline environment favors boys. Shettles recommends a douche of water and vinegar (acid) immediately before intercourse to favor a girl; a douche of water and baking soda (alkaline) will help for a boy."

So maybe with certain diets, that can create a better enviroment for certain sperm...?

Jenn
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Posted by ratchet22 (Member # 12240) on April 24, 2008 05:12 PM:

MichelleToo
I just had surgery last week, and I laughed so hard reading about the Drs comment to get another husband, Thanks, I needed that, even though it was painful....
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Posted by MichelleToo (Member # 12330) on April 24, 2008 07:47 PM:

ratchet22,
I hope that you are feeling better after your surgery. Yes, I thought I was going to fall off the table laughing. My husband took it pretty well, considering...
But it wasn't the first time someone in our little Italian village told me what was on their mind. Here's another laugh for you. One day when I was in the piazza, an older woman stopped to see my girls who were both quite young and 18 months apart. I guess she didn't think that I had a clue, so she leaned forward and whispered in my ear that I needed to be careful! She added, that there were ways to control baby making. I don't think that I could respond. I probably just stood there looking at her kind of dazed.
~Michelle