Mom's diet seen as factor in whether baby is boy or girl

[yby1]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080423/ap_on_he_me/diet_baby_gender;_ylt=AhdLjMgzBEMoxKVH1NGkh9Ss0NUE

Not believing this one.

[jennylou]

Yeah, I heard that on The View this morning. I'm not buying it either. ;)

[kedzieb]

Seeing as gender is set by the father's sperm, this makes no sense. And in a country of overeaters, shouldn't there be a boy-explosion?

[msnicolea]

Diet Pepsi must yield boys then!

[Neen]

I heard this on the news this morning. Not believing it.

[boilermaker]

Isn't that similar to the old wives tale that eating honey = boy (hence the reason for the honeymoon).

I do believe that X vs Y sperm can do better in different uterine environments, so I guess it's not too much of a strech that diet can effect that. But I would think it has more to do with how your body processes foods then what you typically eat.

[smiles33]

The thread title made me laugh, as my mom (who is Chinese and an immigrant from Taiwan) SWEARS that if I go vegetarian, I'll have a boy next and the reason why I had a girl is because I love meat and eat too much of it. I don't really understand the reasoning but she chalks it up to ancient Chinese lore/superstition about yin/yang balances and all that....

I see the Yahoo article is totally different, but I still had to laugh when I saw it. If my mom and 5,000 years of Chinese history are "right" then I guess I'm doomed to have girls! ;)

[tinkerbelljenny]

I hate bananas and cereal and I have all boys.........

[imagirliegirl]

Seeing as gender is set by the father's sperm, this makes no sense.

Uh...that's what I'm thinkin'.

[ivansbabe]

I'm off to read the link but I've heard that certain foods supposedly help the uterine environment like boilermaker suggested. Meats, sweets/dairy = girl, fruits/veggies and I don't remember what else = boys. Something about the alkeline vs. acidic environment. Anyway off to read...!

eta: This line at the very end irritated me somewhat "The bottom line is, we still don't know how to advise patients in how to make boys,"

Are people still seriously adament about having boys over girls? It just seems weird.

[Miriam]

It doesn't really matter if the sex of the baby comes from sperm; I believe what they are saying is that if the embryo is a male, but then you don't take in enough nutrients, the embryo won't thrive and you won't continue to be pregnant....am I wrong???

I don't know why this couldn't be true....People who study this certainly know more than me.

[BTB]

Seeing as gender is set by the father's sperm, this makes no sense.

There's more to sex specification than the sex chromosome carried by the sperm. Some women are genetically predisposed to conceive boys or to conceive girls because the protein composition of their eggs' zona pelucida (an outer layer the sperm have to penetrate, through a series of enzymatic reactions, in order to fertilize the ovum) only lets sperm of one "gender" through. Additionally, it's believed that some women may have a uterine environment which favors either the implantation, or the maintenance of implantation (or possibly both,) of embryos of one gender or the other.

Thus, while this is scientifically totally plausible, I'm not sure whether this study in particular was well done, and even it it was, I'm with a pp in wondering why it matters.

[Ellyn]

Some women are genetically predisposed to conceive boys or to conceive girls because the protein composition of their eggs' zona pelucida (an outer layer the sperm have to penetrate, through a series of enzymatic reactions, in order to fertilize the ovum) only lets sperm of one "gender" through. Additionally, it's believed that some women may have a uterine environment which favors either the implantation, or the maintenance of implantation (or possibly both,) of embryos of one gender or the other.
WHich is why once you have a child, your second child is more likely to be of the same sex as your first....obviously, not always (or DD would be a boy).

[Scooter]

This has been all over the TV and radio and it really bothers me. First because I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to say that if you want a girl you can just eat less and maybe have one. Not exactly a safe thing to do while pregnant.

Second because of the reason mentioned above--trying to help people have control over the sex of their babies? I just don't like that idea.

Third because I don't know how well the study was done, what if the baby's sex is what determines the mother's food cravings and aversions? How do we know it's the food causing this, and not the baby's sex in the first place?

The thread title made me laugh, as my mom (who is Chinese and an immigrant from Taiwan) SWEARS that if I go vegetarian, I'll have a boy next and the reason why I had a girl is because I love meat and eat too much of it. I have to laugh at this one! :D It might disappoint your mom, but a friend and I are vegetarians and we both have little girls. As do thousands and thousands of vegetarians out there. :p

[Chimichanga]

DH came up to me with this yesterday. He said something about the mom's blood sugar and if it was high it would mean a boy. I reminded him that I had gestational diabetes and had a girl.

I'm not buying this study at all.

[hub1176]

I hate studies like these. When I think of all the useful things we could spend money on...

[dusthappy]

this isn't a new concept or scientific finding. Many people who have tried to sway the odds for a particular gender have used "boy diets" and "girl diets" for as long as people have been trying to have babies. Whether it was an old wives tale or based on scientific fact, the bottom line is that for some people, gender swaying is worth a try, and diet does in fact play a small part in determing sex or even in concieving at all.

When we were trying for our third baby, we used the gender diets, as well as timing in hopes of getting pregnant with a boy. Whether that was what did it or not, we did have a son after having two daughters. I believe that there are many reasons for trying to, some medical, some just preference, (ours was the desire for balance in our family, though I have a friend who had a clotting disorder and it was better to try for a certain gender).

The bottom line is that some women have hostile environments for any sperm, be it x or y and diet can help neutralize that. It is proven that male sperm are faster, but don't have the same life span as female sperm, they are more prone to early death if they enter an acidic environment, while female sperm seem able to live longer that way. Your pottasium effect your pH which can in turn effect the viability of a certain sperm. And that I believe is the whole point of the article.

JMO

ETA, I still don't understand why they are presenting this as a new theory, and I really, really do not agree with encouraging women (or anyone for that matter) to eat a higher sugary diet. The way the press is portraying the study could be very misleading for many people who are looking for less costlier ways of getting the gender they hope for vs. sperm spinning, etc. And I think they should have added a disclaimer that while there is some evidence that diet can help determine sex, none of it is foolproof and it basically all comes down to "you get what you get or what God gives you" when it comes to baby making. lol

[PinkMartini]

Are people still seriously adament about having boys over girls? It just seems weird.

Oh yea! A girl on another board I visit is almost hysterical about wanting a girl and ONLY a girl. She said that she doesn't want kids if she doesn't get a girl :eek:

[phoenics]

Oh yea! A girl on another board I visit is almost hysterical about wanting a girl and ONLY a girl. She said that she doesn't want kids if she doesn't get a girl :eek:

wow. That's sad.

[Oakley]

My husband's grandmother had TEN boys and 0 girls. I wondered about the odds of that, but reading this thread has cleared a lot up for me!

[PinkMartini]

wow. That's sad.

Seriously!!! I wish I could slap some sense into her through the computer :rolleyes:

[phoenics]

Seriously!!! I wish I could slap some sense into her through the computer :rolleyes:

I think somebody had a cool avatar that does that for you, lol.