I bet you think you know the answer to that question, don’t you? And you probably do, sort of — I mean, if any of you are still seriously wondering how those male creatures in your house came to be, shoot me an email. I used to be a nurse, after all. I can explain these things.
But it turns out there’s more to the process. A study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology suggests that some men are prone to making boys. This may explain why I have four sons.
According to the study, all men have a gene that influences their ability to father sons, daughters or both. If a man has the mm version of the gene, he produces more Y sperm and is therefore more likely to father sons. If he has the mf version, he produces roughly equal numbers of X and Y sperm and will likely father both sons and daughters. A man with the ff version, however, will produce more X sperm and more daughters.
Other theories also abound. One says that stressed-out moms are more likely to have a girl than a boy. (The stress hormones may make it difficult for male embryos to implant in the womb.) Another study says that richer moms have more sons.
What do you think? Do you think some women/men are more prone to producing boys?
7 Responses
My paternal grandparents sure seemed to be: 9 boys, not a single girl.
my maternal grandparents had 5 girls, all about a year apart. and most of those girls have 2 girls and 1 boy. i’d say this has more to do with daddies than anything. when i was pregnant, i was not stressed at all, and i’m certainly not rich. i guess i was just lucky to get my little boy! we’ll see when baby #2 comes (in a couple years) if i change my mind. perhaps i will be rich by then, and blame the outcome! LOL!
Personally, I still wonder if there’s not some sort of chemical something between a man and a women that influences whether they’re more likely to have boys or girls.
There are 12 grandsons in my husbands’ family and no granddaughters! I don’t consider myself a stressed out, high-maintenance girl, though my sons think so. All I know is the oldest one prayed for baby brothers for 3 years. I do think it’s a shame that Henry VIII blamed all his wives for not producing males, when apparently it was all his fault!
Hmm…With “high energy” twin boys, my wife gave birth to a girl. That would suggest support to the stressed out theory. But number four is a boy and he was gestated during the most stressful time in our lives.
My conclusion…It’s random. I don’t care what the studies conclude. It’s random. You get what you get.
I think the gene thing could be the case – it makes sense to me. We have 3 girls and then we had a boy – I was assuming by this point we’d have 4 girls!
I don’t agree with the stressed out one though – I’m about as least stressed as it gets and we have 3 girls 🙂
If stressed out Moms are more likely to have girls, I’d be sure to have a girl or two right now. 😉