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Isn't it the father's sperm that carries the X or the Y x-some that determines the sex of the baby? How could the mother's state determine which sperm is accep
by maximilian 19y ago
Isn't it the father's sperm that carries the X or the Y x-some that determines the sex of the baby? How could the mother's state determine which sperm is accepted to be "the one"?
- snowmaker 19y agoIt's not that simple. It is well-known from other research studies, particularly the ones which document the effect of social status on gender ratio, that the woman does have an ability to influence the gender ratio of her children. The most likely mechanism by which she does this is altering the porosity of her cervical channels, which could change the ratio of male to female sperm, but as far as I know no one has observed this directly.
- natrius 19y agoThe article poses a possible explanation at the end. The development of a fertilized embryo depends completely on the mother. Perhaps certain conditions reduce the viability of male embryos or increase the viability of female embryos. That seems like a simpler explanation than some sort of sperm selection.