Can your blood pressure predict the sex of your baby?
A new study suggests your blood pressure BEFORE you get pregnant can indicate which sex of baby you'll have. Sounds incredible, so what's the real story?
New research conducted by scientists in Canada claims that at 26 weeks BEFORE conception, a woman’s blood pressure can ‘predict’ the sex of their baby.
According to the findings, higher blood pressure indicates the baby will be a boy, while lower blood pressure suggests it’ll be a girl.
This study has definitely got people talking - it’s making headlines everywhere!
We’re not surprised, either, because it’s totally fascinating (and a tad confusing - especially since we know that the X and Y chromosomes are determined by sperm).
We’d love to see more research done on this topic, but until then, we’re not 100% sure it’s a guaranteed predictor just yet….
How they did it
The study monitored the blood pressure of 1,411 Chinese women trying to become pregnant. By the end of the study, 739 boys were born, compared to 672 girls.
There were adjustments made for a variety of demographic and physical factors (such as age, BMI, smokers vs non-smokers etc) before finalising the systolic blood pressure result for each participant.
What other experts are saying
But as Professor Charles Kingsland of Liverpool Women’s Hospital told The Telegraph, the findings failed to take consideration the race of the women tested.
“…it does not take into account the potential physiological aspects of race. Will those changes be the same in the Caucasian or Afro-Caribbean populations in the world?”
Hammersmith Hospital’s reproductive medicine consultant Geoffrey Trew also expressed scepticism to The Telegraph:
“I would be very surprised that a BP measurement, which is notoriously variable, could dictate sex 26 weeks before: some reptiles can have sex differences due to temperature changes at the time of early fetal growth, but not 26 weeks beforehand.”
What we think
Firstly, one thing we definitely wouldn’t want to hear of is someone trying to raise their blood pressure in the hopes of having a boy!
Only time (and lots more researching) will tell whether this is actually a thing - but there are other ways to ‘predict’ your baby’s sex in the meantime, some more 'fun' than others.
These 6 so-called ‘natural ways’ to choose your baby’s sex have varying success rates, though it seems they worked for some people.
There’s also the well-known nub theory, skull theory and the Chinese gender prediction chart which some mums-to-be have had success with, too.
Have your say
Did you successfully predict your baby’s sex… if so, how?
Or perhaps you chose your baby’s sex, just like Chrissy and John Legend did, and would be willing to share your story?
Drop us a line in the comments on Facebook – we’d love to hear from you.
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