Patient's question:
I am 28 years old and have a 3-year-old daughter. Now that the country has relaxed the two-child policy, my husband's family has a very strong preference for sons, especially my mother-in-law, who has always wanted me to give them a boy. I've heard many people drink baking soda water during pregnancy, and rinse the vagina with baking soda before intercourse to have a boy.What kind of help do I need: Has anyone taken sodium bicarbonate tablets to have a boy?
Doctor's answer:
The gender of a child is inherently random. Every cell in the human body contains an equal number of two types of chromosomes: one called the X chromosome and the other called the Y chromosome. Male chromosomes are formed by the combination of one X and one Y chromosome, while female chromosomes consist of two X chromosomes. When a mature egg combines with a sperm containing an X chromosome, a girl is born; when it combines with a sperm containing a Y chromosome, a boy is born:X sperm + X egg → girl (XX)
Y sperm + X egg → boy (XY)
Therefore, the gender of a child depends on whether the sperm carrying the X or Y sex chromosome from the male combines with the egg. It is neither determined by the wife nor the husband, but entirely a matter of chance.