A new study suggests that it is possible to find out the sex of a baby months before it is even conceived.
Scientists in Canada discovered that a woman’s blood pressure at around 26 weeks before conception predicts if she will give birth to a boy or a girl.
Researchers found those with lower blood pressure tended to have a girl, while higher blood pressure was an indication that a boy was more likely to be conceived.
However, it was unclear whether a woman who wanted to have either sex could influence the outcome by deliberately raising or lowering her blood pressure.
Dr Ravi Retnakaran, endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said: “It suggests that a woman’s blood pressure before pregnancy is a previously unrecognised factor that is associated with her likelihood of delivering a boy or a girl.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Hypertension.
The study could prove controversial amid concern over pressure on women to have baby boys in some cultures.
