The sheer memory of being in labour can make mums run in another direction. At the same time, it’s also true that most mums will go through such extreme pain so that their little one gets the gift of life. But did you know the sex of your baby might impact the intensity of your labour pain? A study reveals that giving birth to baby boy can hurt more as compared to delivering a little girl.
What does research say about giving birth to baby boy?
The journal Pediatric Research published an article based on a study that was conducted by San Cecilio Clinical Hospital of Granada and a team of researchers from the University of Granada (UGR). Javier Diaz Castro and Julio Ochoa Herrera were the chief researchers of this study. For this research, they worked together with the Department of Physiology at UGR.
The research, the first of its kind, aimed to find out whether giving birth to baby boy is more painful than giving birth to a baby girl.
Researchers studied 56 pregnant, perfectly healthy mums. Of the 56 pregnancies, 27 turned out to be boys while 29 were girls. After childbirth the doctors studied the damage to these mums’ bodies. They found that the biomolecules of mums who had delivered baby girls showed less damage. The study thus revealed that male births are more painful.
Javier Diaz Castro and Julio Ochoa Herrera feel that this analysis has opened up an interesting area of study that talks about the correlation between the gender of newborns and possible risks involved, its effect on life expectancy and the development of diseases.
Why giving birth to baby boy is more painful compared to delivering baby girls
Based on the study, the researchers concluded that the gender of your baby can influence the childbirth. They explain the reasons behind this difference:
One possible reason could be because females have a better ability to deal with stress. The enzymatic systems found in females are more mature when they are ready to be born. It leads to creating a barrier, which in turn helps in preventing cell damage. Females possess a certain defensive antioxidant that is better than what is found in males. This leads to less oxidative damage to cell membranes at the time of birth. And this optimises cellular metabolism as well.
From a pregnant mum’s perspective, this means less inflammation and less painful labour and childbirth.
Giving birth to baby boy: other risks involved
Dr. Petra Verburg of the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide in Australia shares: “The sex of the baby has a direct association with pregnancy complications.”
Here’s what various studies say about the possible complications when giving birth to baby boy.
- Baby boys may be born earlier than the due date. This in itself leads to many complications for the baby.
- Baby boys are more likely to be born preterm. The odds of male babies being born between the 20th and 24th week of pregnancy are 27 percent higher. Whereas chances of baby boys born between the pregnancy weeks 30 and 33 is 24 percent higher. Furthermore, baby boys being born between the 34th and 36th week of pregnancy is 17 percent higher.
- Pregnant mums carrying baby boys are more prone to gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and high blood pressure at the time of delivery.
Sources: The Sun, WebMD
ALSO READ: What labour pain really feels like
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