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Conception

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Original poster

Probabilitiy of gender for third child...

69 replies

minicommandant · 15/11/2006 22:12

Didn't really know where to put this, but hope someone can shed some light. A friend's midwife is telling her that because she already has 2 boys, there is a 75% chance that her 3rd baby will also be a boy. As I also have 2 boys and am planning a 3rd, I would be really interested to know if there is a proven statistical basis to this! It wouldn't affect the decision, just interested to know the odds!

OP posts:
twickersmum · 15/11/2006 22:44

you should get this book...
3 friends "tried" for a specific gender and all got it!
this

Olihan · 15/11/2006 22:40

Aren't there more boys born that girls on average anyway? 51 boys to 49 girls sort of thing? I'm sure I've read that somewhere - probably the same place as the x/y sperm thing so maybe not the most reliable source!!

Original poster
minicommandant · 15/11/2006 22:27

oh, I meant NotQuiteCockneys earlier post re having A gender. This latest one crossed with mine. Hope you do get chance to bang on about stuff later as sounds like plenty of us are interested.

OP posts:
edam · 15/11/2006 22:26

I'm sure NQC's right and it's more to do with mucus - I was only speculating given that I had a vague memory it wasn't 50/50.

cece · 15/11/2006 22:26

Glad to know my mucous is hospitable to all

Original poster
minicommandant · 15/11/2006 22:25

Thank you all! Especially NotQuiteCockney whose post gave me a good laugh before I sign off for the night. Look forward to seeing if we get any "proper" answers (no offence intended!) from those in the biz overnight and whose theory is right...

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 15/11/2006 22:24

Some people do have 50/50 odds, or near enough.

There are a lot of factors that go into gender selection. Cervical mucous and time (within cycle) of intercourse are two big ones. Obviously time within cycle can vary from conception to conception, and there are plenty of things that change your cervical mucous.

There are actually some interesting sociobiological explanations for gender probailities that I can't get into tonight, but can go on about for hours some other time ...

cece · 15/11/2006 22:22

so what if you have one of each already?

dinosaur · 15/11/2006 22:21

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

NotQuiteCockney · 15/11/2006 22:20

Hmm, I think each man has to have 50/50 X and Y sperm, as each sperm is made by splitting a normal cell, and each normal cell has one X and one Y. Oh, I guess if your bloke is XYY, but I think that's pretty rare, isn't it?

Olihan · 15/11/2006 22:18

I think edam's right, some men just produce more x or y sperm, therefore if you've got 2 the same then the third is slightly more likely to be the same.

LadyOfTheFlowersIs1Baby1Bump · 15/11/2006 22:17

ooh ooh, ive been meaning to ask views on this. i have 2 boys and would love a girl aswell....
dh has a brother and i have 2.

NotQuiteCockney · 15/11/2006 22:17

It's definately not 50/50. Some couples are more likely to have one gender, it's down to cervical mucous, which reflects a lot of different things.

(I really was coming on here to say that yes, there is a 100% chance your child will have a gender.)

edam · 15/11/2006 22:16

Logically you'd assume Cece is right, but I'm sure I've come across a statistic that shows the third child is more likely to follow the pattern in a single-sex family. Can't remember how it works but presumably some men just produce more xs or ys.

JanH · 15/11/2006 22:15

I had 2 girls and then a boy too.

There was another thread a bit like this recently - strictly speaking it's a 50:50 chance every time, but somebody quoted some condition or other that means it actually isn't (helpful, eh?)

Will see if I can find it for you, mc

threebob · 15/11/2006 22:15

I heard this too from a friend's midwife. Something to do with cervical mucus being hostile to likely female candidates. My thought was that only 2 boy babies - it could just be a coincidence.

collision · 15/11/2006 22:15

I think the odds are higher of having another boy if you have 2 boys already.

cece · 15/11/2006 22:14

Surely it is 50/50 as the probability returns to that for every baby. Surely the number of babies you have doesn't effect the probability for each individual one.

nutcracker · 15/11/2006 22:13

Haven't a clue, but I had 2 girls and then a boy.