Fat women more likely to have baby girls after IVF treatment

Perth, Oct 21 : Overweight women are more likely to have baby girls after IVF treatment, according to a new research.

The study also found that mums with normal weight are more likely to have boys after the treatment.

However, the Western Australian specialists behind the small study, say while the data is "fascinating'' they don't advise prospective parents to change eating habits in the hope of changing their child's gender.

"It's very interesting indeed to see such a clear gender trend, and we understand it might be quite alluring to couples who desperately want a girl or a boy, but we still need to look at it on a larger scale,'' Perth Now quoted study leader Dr James Stanger, an embryologist at Pivet Medical Centre in Perth, as saying.

To reach the conclusion, Stanger analysed the clinic's database over the past five years to look at trends in body mass index (BMI) and baby's sex among the 800 children born.

"I found that women who were very thin, with a BMI under 20, were more likely to have boys, with about six boys to every four girls," Dr Stanger said.

"And women who were overweight, with a BMI over 30, were more likely to have girls by the same rate," the expert added.

The study has been presented at a fertility conference in Brisbane.

ANI