The Claim: Birth Complications Are More Likely With Boys.
Nytimes interesting things. . .
Effect of fetal sex on labour and delivery
An old wives’ tale holds that a difficult pregnancy means the baby will be a boy. That is folklore, but in recent years, several studies examining tens of thousands of births have indicated that a male baby may in fact be slightly more likely to result in complications.
The latest study, conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University, examined 66,000 births and found that those involving boys were more often complicated, with a slightly greater chance of problems like premature birth and a need for Caesarean delivery.
Other studies have found similar results. One in 2002 looked at more than 90,000 births in 1988 and 1999. It found that male births were 1.5 times as likely as female ones to result in arrest of descent, which occurs when the fetus essentially stops descending in the second, or “pushing,” stage of labor.
Scientists point out that these findings do not indicate that male births are necessarily “high risk,” just slightly more risky than female births. One reason, it seems, is the larger head size of male babies. But there is speculation that other factors, like higher levels of androgens, may also play a role.
As one study concluded, “When we say ‘it must be a boy’ as a humorous explanation of complications of labor and delivery, we are scientifically more correct than previously supposed.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Studies have found that boys pose a slightly elevated risk of birth complications.
ANAHAD O’CONNOR scitimes@nytimes.com
Effect of fetal sex on labour and delivery
An old wives’ tale holds that a difficult pregnancy means the baby will be a boy. That is folklore, but in recent years, several studies examining tens of thousands of births have indicated that a male baby may in fact be slightly more likely to result in complications.
The latest study, conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University, examined 66,000 births and found that those involving boys were more often complicated, with a slightly greater chance of problems like premature birth and a need for Caesarean delivery.
Other studies have found similar results. One in 2002 looked at more than 90,000 births in 1988 and 1999. It found that male births were 1.5 times as likely as female ones to result in arrest of descent, which occurs when the fetus essentially stops descending in the second, or “pushing,” stage of labor.
Scientists point out that these findings do not indicate that male births are necessarily “high risk,” just slightly more risky than female births. One reason, it seems, is the larger head size of male babies. But there is speculation that other factors, like higher levels of androgens, may also play a role.
As one study concluded, “When we say ‘it must be a boy’ as a humorous explanation of complications of labor and delivery, we are scientifically more correct than previously supposed.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Studies have found that boys pose a slightly elevated risk of birth complications.
ANAHAD O’CONNOR scitimes@nytimes.com
I didn't read the title of your post and just saw "fetal sex" and thought you were going to talk about the affect of having sex while pregnant. Very different! :-)
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