If you’ve always wanted your firstborn to be a son, or hope to add a little boy to your brood of girls, there’s one thing that may possibly increase your chances of having a boy.
According to a new study, published by The Royal Society, what a mother eats before conceiving can be a predictor of gender.
Luckily, it has nothing to do with slugs, snails and puppy dog tails, as the old nursery rhyme misleadingly suggests - but a lot more to do with how much potassium the mother consumes prior to conception.
The study examined the diet of 740 British women prior to conceiving their first child. None of the women involved knew the gender of their baby.
When examining the diets of mums who gave birth to boys, they found that high levels of potassium and overall good nutrition was linked to conceiving a boy.
So, if you would love a little boy, make bananas and other sources of potassium a part of your daily diet.
They also found mums who ate a lot of breakfast cereals prior to conception were more likely to have a boy. Women who ate at least one bowl of cereal daily were far more likely to have a boy than those who ate one or less than one bowl per week.
It would appear a bowl of cereal and a banana could be the ideal breakfast for those hoping to conceive a little boy.
The researchers examined diet at various stages of pregnancy, and found that the sex of the foetus wasn’t linked to any specific food eaten during pregnancy; it was the pre-conception diet that was important.
An overall nutritious diet was also crucial in conceiving a little boy. 56 percent of women with the highest intake of energy in their pre-conception diet gave birth to boys, compared to 45 percent with the lowest intake.
This study is fascinating and something worth bearing in mind if you are thinking of becoming pregnant.
If you have questions about your diet before conception or during pregnancy, always seek the advice of a trained medical professional.
