A new study shows that a woman's blood pressure before pregnancy could affect the child's sex. Researchers say that women who have lower blood pressure tend to have a girl, while those with higher blood pressure may indicate that she would have a baby boy.

A Woman's Blood Pressure Before Pregnancy Is A Previously Unrecognized Factor In Predicting A Child's Gender

Scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto believe that they have found scientific evidence about predicting a child's sex. Predicting a baby's gender has been a topic of a lot of debates and theories, but none have been backed by scientific proof, save for this recent research, The Sun reported.

The researchers found that women who have the highest blood pressure readings are about 45 percent more likely to have a boy compared to those with the lowest. Dr. Ravi Retnakaran, a lead researcher, said that the findings "suggest that a woman's blood pressure before pregnancy is a previously unrecognized factor that is associated with her likelihood of delivering a boy or girl".

The Research Subjects' Blood Pressure Was Tested Before And After The Study

According to Independent, the team studied a group of women from Liuyang in China who were planning to get pregnant. The subjects' blood pressure was tested before and after they gave birth and other factors like age, whether they smoked, weight and cholesterol, were also taken into consideration.

Study results show that 1,411 had ultimately given birth to 739 boys and 672 girls - and those who had a female child had an average systolic blood pressure of 103.3mmHg before pregnancy, while for mothers of males the figure was 106, about 2.6 percent higher. The study authors concluded that "higher maternal blood pressure before pregnancy emerged as an independent predictor of subsequently delivering a boy."