Mother’s diet can help determine sex of child: study

Anyway, for me. It doesn’t really matter if it’s a boy or a girl. What God give, we take Hehehe.. Anyway, here’s an article taken from Yahoo News.

    PARIS (AFP) - Oysters may excite the libido, but there is nothing like a hearty breakfast laced with sugar to boost a woman’s chances of conceiving a son, according to a study released Wednesday.

    Likewise, a low-energy diet that skimps on calories, minerals and nutrients is more likely to yield a female of the human species, says the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Britain’s de facto academy of sciences.

    Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter in Britain and colleagues wanted to find out if a woman’s diet has an impact on the sex of her offspring.

    So they asked 740 first-time mothers who did not know if their unborn foetuses were male or female to provide detailed records of eating habits before and after they became pregnant. The women were split into three groups according to the number calories they consumed per day around the time of conception.

    Fifty-six percent of the women in the group with the highest energy intake had sons, compared to 45 percent in the least-well fed cohort.

    Beside racking up a higher calorie count, the group who produced more males were also more likely to have eaten a wider range of nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12.

    The odds of an XY, or male outcome to a pregnancy also went up sharply “for women who consumed at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily compared with those who ate less than or equal to one bowl of week,” the study reported.

    These surprising findings are consistent with a very gradual shift in favor of girls over the last four decades in the sex ratio of newborns, according to the researchers.

    Previous research has shown — despite the rising epidemic in obesity — a reduction in the average energy uptake in advanced economies. The number of adults who skip breakfast has also increased substantially.

    ”This research may help to explain why in developed countries, where many young women choose low calorie diets, the proportion of boys is falling,” Mathews said.

    The study’s findings, she added, could point to a “natural mechanism” for gender selection.

    The link between a rich diet and male children may have an evolutionary explanation.

    For most species, the number of offspring a male can father exceeds the number a female can give birth to. But only if conditions are favourable — poor quality male specimens may fail to breed at all, whereas females reproduce more consistently.

    ”If a mother has plentiful resources, then it can make sense to invest in producing a son because he is likely to produce more grandchildren than would a daughter,” thus contributing to the survival of the species, explains Mathews.

    ”However, in leaner times having a daughter is a safer bet.”

    While the mechanism is not yet understood, it is known from in vitro fertilisation research that higher levels of glucose, or sugar, encourage the growth and development of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos.

Pregnancy Symptoms

Well.  Here are a few symptoms you could always check to see if you’re pregnant.  Derived from Pregnancy Symptoms — Early Signs of Pregnancy.

Implantation Bleeding:
Implantation bleeding can be one of the earliest pregnancy symptoms. About 6-12 days after conception, the embryo implants itself into the uterine wall. Some women will experience spotting as well as some cramping.

Other Explanations: Actual menstruation, altered menstruation, changes in birth control pill, infection, or abrasion from intercourse.

Delay/Difference in Menstruation:
A delayed or missed menstruation is the most common pregnancy symptom leading a woman to test for pregnancy. When you become pregnant, your next period should be missed. Many women can bleed while they are pregnant, but typically the bleeding will be shorter or lighter than a normal period.

Other Explanations: Excessive weight gain/loss, fatigue, hormonal problems, tension, stress, ceasing to take the birth control pill, or breast-feeding.

Swollen/Tender Breasts:
Swollen or tender breasts is a pregnancy symptom which may begin as early as 1-2 weeks after conception. Women may notice changes in their breasts; they may be tender to the touch, sore, or swollen.

Other Explanations: Hormonal imbalance, birth control pills, impending menstruation (PMS) can also cause your breasts to be swollen or tender.

Fatigue/Tiredness:
Feeling fatigued or more tired is a pregnancy symptom which can also start as early as the first week after conception.

Other Explanations: Stress, exhaustion, depression, common cold or flu, or other illnesses can also leave you feeling tired or fatigued.

Nausea/Morning Sickness:
This well-known pregnancy symptom will often show up between 2-8 weeks after conception. Some women are fortunate to not deal with morning sickness at all, while others will feel nauseous throughout most of their pregnancy.

Other Explanations: Food poisoning, stress, or other stomach disorders can also cause you to feel queasy.

Backaches:
Lower backaches may be a symptom that occurs early in pregnancy; however, it is common to experience a dull backache throughout an entire pregnancy.

Other Explanations: Impending menstruation, stress, other back problems, and physical or mental strains.

Headaches:
The sudden rise of hormones in your body can cause you to have headaches early in pregnancy.

Other Explanations: Dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, impending menstruation, eye strain, or other ailments can be the source of frequent or chronic headaches.

Frequent Urination:
Around 6-8 weeks after conception, you may find yourself making a few extra trips to the bathroom.

Other Explanations: Urinary tract infection, diabetes, increasing liquid intake, or taking excessive diuretics.

Darkening of Areolas:
If you are pregnant, the skin around your nipples may get darker.

Other Explanations: Hormonal imbalance unrelated to pregnancy or may be a leftover effect from a previous pregnancy.

Food Cravings:
While you may not have a strong desire to eat pickles and ice cream, many women will feel cravings for certain foods when they are pregnant. This can last throughout your entire pregnancy.

Other Explanations: Poor diet, lack of a certain nutrient, stress, depression, or impending menstruation.

Folic Acid

So what is this Folic Acid all about?  Well basically one must take it even before pregnancy occurs.  Apparently this is actually a vitamin which also help prevent the baby from having defects as well.  The article below was taken from About Folic Acid - SBA Resources. Hope this would briefly give you an insight on what is this all about

ABOUT FOLIC ACID

Folic acid is a B-vitamin that is necessary for proper cell growth. If taken before and during early pregnancy from a multi-vitamin or fortified foods, folic acid can prevent from 50% up to 70% of some forms of birth defects called neural tube defects.

Neural tube defects (NTDs) include spina bifida and anencephaly. NTDs affect an estimated 4,000 pregnancies each year. Spina bifida, the most common NTD, is the leading cause of childhood paralysis. Anencephaly, another type of NTD that affects the brain, is always fatal.

In 1992, the United States Public Health Service recommended that all women of childbearing years should take 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acid daily to prevent having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect.

Though it is possible to obtain the recommended dosage of folic acid through foods, it is difficult. The human body actually absorbs the synthetic form of folic acid better than the natural form of folic acid called “folate.” In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration required the addition of folic acid to enriched breads, cereals, flours, pastas, rice and other grain products in order to increase the amount of synthetic folic acid in the general population’s diet.

Most experts recommend that women of childbearing years should take 400 micrograms of synthetic folic acid daily, from fortified foods and/or a daily multi-vitamin, and eat a variety of foods as part of a healthy diet. The easiest way to be sure to get the recommended daily amount of folic acid is to take a multi-vitamin every day.

New research suggests that folic acid can also help prevent other birth defects, such as cleft lip and cleft palate. Additional health benefits associated with folic acid include reductions in cardiovascular disease and colon, cervical and breast cancers. Studies have shown that folic acid, in combination with vitamins B12 and B6, can help prevent recurrence of blocked arteries in patients who have undergone angioplasty (a procedure to unblock an artery of the heart). Folic acid may also help prevent Alzheimer’s disease by protecting the neurons critical for learning and memory. Emerging research suggests that folic acid deficiency can also increase the brain’s susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease.

I’m Gonna Be A Daddy!

On the 25th of February 2008 marks another important day in my life.  For the past few days, Deluxe has not been feeling very well.  As she tends to gets tired easily, and her tummy wasn’t feeling too good as it felt as if she was hungry but she’s not even hungry at all.  Also she felt like vomiting and her period was overdue.  We never thought that she was pregnant because of her period was late a week or so, due to the fact that her period always delay.  And plus, probably because she was tired due to the fact we just got back from our Chinese New Year Trip in Miri.  Anyway, after days of delaying in seeing a doctor, we finally did.  And after explaining the symptoms to the doctor, the doctor said she would like to test for pregnancy or any infection via her urine.

And the results?  She was confirmed pregnant.  I nearly flipped when I found out that she was pregnant.  The doctor asked us to go and see a gynecologist as soon as possible so that we would be able to know the condition of the baby.  She gave Deluxe folic acid as well as some anti-nausea tablets for her to consume.  Thus today marks a new change in life for myself and Deluxe.