What does the sex of the unborn child depend on?

Previous studies have shown that the proportion of female offspring in human populations is a few percent lower than that of boys.

This difference can also be observed in Hungary, according to the data of the Central Statistical Office, on average two to three thousand more boys are born every year.

Among children born in 2018, for example, 51.4 percent were boys and 48.6 percent were girls, which is in line with the world average of 105 newborn girls per 100 newborn girls.

In England, where children born in that year were first registered in 1838 by gender, there has never been a year since no more boys were born. In some countries, such as India and China, there is an even greater discrepancy in numbers because the existence of a boy's successor is more important, according to a BBC article.

The sex of the unborn child can even be influenced by external environmental influences. Extreme, stressful situations, environmental disasters, and economic recession can all play a role in the gender distribution of births and changes in proportions.

According to a study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the trend of increasing the proportion of female offspring has been observed for a long time.

This was also the case after the 9/11 US terrorist attacks or major earthquakes, according to a Telegraph article.

Consequently, it could easily be that the current epidemic period will also have an impact on the gender distribution.

The health of the mother can significantly affect the development of the fetus, and studies show that mothers who felt healthier during pregnancy gave birth to more sons.

According to some studies, the variation between families may be related to several factors offspring kind, and is currently investigating, inter alia, Eötvös University, a group of behavioral ecology is the study of .

According to the report, a boy offspring with good abilities can achieve greater success than a girl with similar abilities. While it is more advantageous for a mother living in poor living conditions to have offspring because a lower quality male / boy often does not have the opportunity to reproduce at all.

Studies to date have focused primarily on describing sex ratio patterns, with few attempts to examine their effect on the aptitude, or success, of offspring. Among these exceptions is a study that attempted to analyze how the higher proportion of boys observed in the families of billionaires affects fitness. It was found that the boys ’children of billionaires gifted parents with more grandchildren than their daughters, so the observed boy overweight was evolutionarily beneficial.

The question is whether the benefits appear only in this special group, or whether they can be considered general - says Balázs Rosivall, assistant professor, head of the research.

“Studies can help find the reasons for the variability in the sex ratio of offspring. If, according to the hypotheses, children of the sexes who have a better survival in the given circumstances and a higher expected number of offspring are indeed more likely to be born, then interfering with this may have a negative impact on the lives of the offspring, ” the researcher adds.

(Source: biokalauz.co.hu; marmalade.co.hu; hirado.hu | Image: pixabay.com)