Baby boys are much more likely to face potentially life-threatening outcomes at birth than girls, new research today suggests. Baby boys are much more likely to face potentially life-threatening outcomes at birth than girls, new research today suggests.
Newborn boys are at greater risk of being born spontaneously premature, while their mothers are at greater risk of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.
The study, the first of its kind, examined data on more than 574,000 births in Australia over a 30-year period, from 1981 to 2011.
Lead researcher and senior author of the paper, Professor Claire Roberts, from the University of Adelaide, said.
'The major conclusion of our study is that the evidence is there and it is very clear: the sex of the baby has a direct association with pregnancy outcomes.'