New research, recently published in the Paediatric Research journal, has found that baby girls may be better able to cope with the stresses of being in the womb and labour than baby boys.
The Spanish study collected blood samples from fifty-six mothers (at the beginning and end of labour) and from their babies (umbilical cord veins and arteries) to determine gender-related differences concerning oxidative stress. The researchers found that female foetuses demonstrate less oxidative stress on their cell membranes than male foetuses.
Additionally, there is a greater antioxidant defense and less biomolecular damage when women give birth to girls compared to when they give birth to boys, making baby girl labours easier.
This is the first study of its kind to demonstrate how a baby’s gender affects bodily stress during pregnancy and labour, leading to a renewed interest in sex as a physiological potential risk factor. The scientists, based in the San Cecilio Clinic Hospital, explained:
"The new-born baby's gender determines not only how the mother deals with the labour process, but also the way neonates confront the extrauterine environment, which shows that the neonate's sex is a decisive factor related to several functional alterations with a great post-labour impact for the mother, and for the baby for the rest of their life"
Their conclusions are based on healthy pregnancies at the Spanish hospital - 27 of which ended in the birth of a boy and 29 in the birth of a girl. The researchers are hopeful that their findings will further our understanding of how gender affects neonatal health.
