Boy Or Girl? You Decide

Posted by Joanna Karpasea-Jones Oct 12, 2008

There are many professionals, pro-life groups and religious organisations who are opposed to embryo selection. Some say it is 'abortion' to leave the wrong sex embryos to perish, other's are worried that if it is done for non-medical purposes, there may be an imbalance in the numbers of males and females. This is seen in India, where female fetuses are frequently aborted, and in China. China's one child policy means that some Chinese couples will abort female fetuses in favor of a son.

But I've got to admit, I see the attraction. As the mother of four daughters, born one after the other, I regularly joked with my friends that poor old hubby was incapable of producing a boy. I told them he only had XX sperm, and part of me believed that. I considered natural remedies before my 5th child was born, but luckily for me, he was a boy anyway - the son I thought I'd never have!

It may surprise you to learn that according to the New Scientist, baby's gender isn't just down to the man as previously believed. The health and diet of the mother can have a direct impact on the sex of the child.

For a girl, you should be vegetarian and eat lots of sweet things and chocolate. For a boy, eating meats and spicy food and ensuring you are in very good health prior to conception can move the odds in your favor. Why? The study showed that animals with lower blood sugar gave birth to more female offspring. As meat raises blood sugar for a longer period of time than other foods, this explains why more boys are born to people with a higher meat intake.

Illness and stress is also thought to affect the gender, with more girls being born during times of illness. This is because boy's immune systems are weaker and they can die in greater numbers, whereas girls, even if weak, can still carry and give birth to more babies. It is nature's survival mechanism. Research has suggested that single mothers have more daughters and this may be because they have more stresses, which affect blood sugar. So think about your diet before you think about IVF!