Boys' births are more complicated than girls'

"It must be a boy" is the conventional wisdom associated with complicated labour and delivery. Few studies on the effect of the sex of the fetus on labour outcomes and events have been done. Eogan and colleagues (p 137) reviewed delivery ward data in Dublin for 1997-2000 to investigate the effect of fetal sex on birth weight, duration of labour, mode of delivery, and birth outcome. They found that primigravid women who go into labour spontaneously and at term are more likely to encounter complications during labour and delivery, including a higher incidence of fetal distress and operative delivery, when the infant is male.

(Credit: RON SUTHERLAND/SPL)

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Relevant Article

Effect of fetal sex on labour and delivery: retrospective review

Maeve A Eogan, Michael P Geary, Michael P O'Connell, and Declan P Keane
BMJ 2003 326: 137. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]