Stressed women more likely to have girls17th October 2011
Researchers at Oxford University have said women who are worried before their pregnancies are more likely to give birth to baby girls.
The scientists said women who suffered from stress were more likely to have female babies and also took longer to fall pregnant.
Dr Cecilia Pyper, from the Department of Public Health at Oxford University, said the study looked at healthy females in the UK who were attempting to conceive.
She explained: "We want to understand what factors influence the chances of a pregnancy being normal; many couples are very keen to know what they should do to improve their chances of conceiving and having a healthy baby, and this research will help us provide the best advice."
"This research study is investigating stress in women trying to conceive; research has already identified that anxiety and stress in pregnant women may cause problems during the pregnancy and with the development of the baby."
However, she added that it was a "very small" study and it was important to carry out larger studies to see if their findings proved to be true on a bigger scale.
The study looked at 338 women in Britain who were asked to fill in daily diaries about their lifestyles.
Their levels of two hormones linked to stress - cortisol and alpha-amylase - were also measured six months before they fell pregnant.
The chances of having a boy were 75% less in women with the highest cortisol levels and 69% lower in women with the next highest levels of the hormone.
The researchers concluded: "Our findings support a detrimental effect of stress as measured by salivary cortisol on the secondary sex ratio resulting in a female excess of live births."
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Friday 21st October 2011 @ 12:12
All about: Pregnancy,Sex and Baby \r\n http://www.aabout.biz/2011/10/pregnancysex-and-baby.html
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Title: Stressed women more likely to have girls
Author: Jess Laurence
Article Id: 20087
Date Added: 17th Oct 2011