Stressed Women Give Birth to Girls

A new study conducted by British and American scientists shows that those women, who have been facing stress at work or in their personal life before pregnancy, are more likely to give birth to a girl rather than a boy.

Previously, the scientists have been making statements that during the period of strong stress and crises boys are less likely to be born. For instance, this tendency was observed in America immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Then the number of boys born in New York City reduced considerably. The same was observed in Germany in 1991, when the former GDR stepped into the period of economic decline and political chaos. Then there was a significant decline in the number of newborn boys.

The recent study not only states the fact, but explains it as well. The reason turns out to be in the increased level of the so-called stress hormone in pregnant women, cortisol in particular. The women, who had had a higher level of cortisol before pregnancy, more often gave birth to girls. High cortisol levels must in any way impede the implantation of male embryos in the uterus. But, of course, the process of determining the sex of the expected child is controled by the chromosome set in sperm, and this fact is never going to be disputed by scientists. In addition, male embryos are more prone to miscarriages, when cortisol levels are high.

Source of the image: Photl.