Although it is not yet within our reach to choose the future sex of the baby, if you would like your next baby to be a child you can start thinking about quitting, both you and your partner, if they are smokers.
According to a study of nine thousand pregnant women in Liverpool, the chances of having a male child are almost halved if both parents smoke.
The explanation is that the substances present in tobacco such as nicotine are responsible for obstructing the implantation of male embryos in the mother's womb.
Smoking affects the hormonal balance, a change that alters the cervical mucosa causing the male Y chromosome to have more difficulty reaching the egg and fertilizing it.
The researchers also found that mothers who had smoked during pregnancy had a third less chance of conceiving male babies than those who had not smoked.
And they go beyond. Women who do not smoke but have been exposed to cigarette smoke from their partners were also less likely to have children.
Of course, this does not mean that if your desire is to have a girl, you have to be fond of tobacco, although it has been shown that mothers who smoke are much more likely to give birth to girls.
The message is very direct. If you want to increase your chances of having a child, abandon the habit of tobacco, which will also do your baby a great favor regardless of sex.
