Research is suggesting that whether you have boys or girls is not so random and is not necessarily 50:50 chance. In fact, this research suggests that the tendency to have more boys v girls (or the other way round) is in the father’s genes. The first clue to look for is whether or not he has more female or more male siblings. This is inherited from his parents. Here’s what you need to know….

Very basic genetics to start (promise we will keep it brief!) Here is what determines if you will have a boy or a girl: 

The mother has the ‘X’ Chromosome. Sperm carries either an X chromosome or a Y chromosome. The one it pairs with will determine if you have a boy or a girl.

X + X = girl

X + Y = boy

Research (click here) looking at the family trees of over half a million people is suggesting that a man will have either more X chromosomes in his sperm (ie. more likely to have more boys), an equal number, or more Y chromosomes (ie. more likely to have girls). 

Turns out, he will get this from his parents. Although we haven’t identified exactly which gene it is, it looks as though there is a heritable gene that he will get from both his parents in combination that will decide whether he has more ‘X’ chromosome sperm, more ‘Y’ chromosome sperm or an equal mix of both. 

That means the clue is to look at your partners siblings: 

If your partner has more female siblings, then the chances are he will have a tendency to have more girls. If he has more brothers: more boys. Equal mix? Well, the same is likely to apply to his kids. 

Does this explain why we saw more boys being born post WW1? 

Post WW1, statistically we saw more boys being born: this theory may provide an explanation. Here’s why: 

Statistically speaking, men who had a greater number of sons were more likely to see at least one of them come home from war. The theory is that that man will likely to produce more boys.

If a father has more daughters and say only one son then theoretically he has a greater risk that his only son will not come home after the war. Which, in theory means less men to produce girls. 

So, if you’re wondering whether you’re likely to have boys or girls or why you have boys and girls – take a look at your partner’s siblings. May just give you a clue! 

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