sperm

[racheael76]

i have read men produce 50/50 of each x and y sperm.(50% girl and 50% boy).
just wondered if it is possible some men produce more girl sperm for example 76% girl and 24% boy sperm.
and some more boy sperm eg 67% boy 33%girl.or even 90% boy 10% girl!
and some 50% of each.
would this explain why some people have all children of the same sex as there chances are higher? and some families have generations of only producing either boys or girls.
your views please ladies.do men produce exactly 50/50 of each?
please be nice.thank you.x

What is AIBU about this? Should it be in chat?

feck I've turned into the MN police

Basic biology means it will be 50/50.
A man has an XY chromosome and to produce sperm those are split so you get an X and a Y.
The only way you would have different proportions is if the man has a chromosome abnormality ie he was XXY...

I believe the ratio is something like 56 boys born in every 100 babies.

The way gametes are produced dictates it's 50:50 split at production. Research has suggested having many babies of the same sex is because the mother's body lays down antibodies against the other sex. Also the internal environment for the sperm both in the father and mother play a part.

What StuckOnARollercoaster said.

Cells are split 50:50. Half Y and half X.

But surely in some men, the X or the Y sperm might die at different rates? Certainly some env kill off Y sperm before they mature, so taking a sperm sample from men may well show more X or more Y....

Didn't you ask this just the other day? It's you that wants to try some woo method of having a girl next time isn't it? And Holly is right - this should be in Chat or Conception.

Different sex sperm have different qualities though.
Male sperm Y can swim fast, and are more aggressive at the egg.
Female sperm X can survive longer, and are slower swimmers, but as they last longer they have a chance if the egg is still unfertilised by the male spermatozoa.

The semen otoh has very variable qualities, some men produce sperm which is acidic, and the woman's body reacts to it. Some men produce semen which is very viscous and the sperms don't swim properly.

There is no way to predict what gender baby you have, but if you want a particular gender baby then the timing if sex is important: sex hours after ovulation will favour the faster swimming Y sperm who meet the egg immediately: sex at roughly the time of ovulation will be more favourable to the X sperm who can survive longer, as they can hang around waiting for the egg to come down the tube, while the Y sperm die off.

For IVF etc, X sperms are heavier, and can sperm can be separated by centrifuge. Ethically, though this isn't done (afaik) in the uk.

hi checazzo yes,its me!glad you are getting to know me . i recently joined mumsnet last week and it has a lovely friendly family feel to it.think i have been a mistake -post is now in conception part .thank you for letting me know.Have a nice day!xxx

Toss a coin. It will come down heads or tails at 50:50.

Imagine heads=girl, tails=boy. Toss a coin 4 times, imagining a family of 4 children. Keep a note of the results.

Do it again. And again. Lots of times.

A lot of the time you will get 2 boys and 2 girls. Sometimes you will get 3:1 or 1:3. Less often (but it will still happen) you will get 4:0.

This is all you need to explain "why some people have all children of the same sex".
Feel free to repeat for families of only 2 children -1 in 4 of them will have two boys, 1 in 4 will have two girls, only 2 in 4 will have a mix

For 3 children -2 of 8 families will have all the same, 6 out of 8 will have a mix

It's really not rare for families to have all the same sex, without any need for an explanation beyond the ordinary randomness of life.

I was told by the records of births that there are a slightly more boys born than girls, BUT more baby boys die than girls. So in the end there are equal boys and girls that survive.

That was a few years ago. All down to Nature.

Only IVF experts could determine if some men produce more male sperm than female or if all are 50/50

This thread is now in conception.