Premature Baby Boys

In this world of equality it is sometimes difficult to make a distinction without raising somebody's sense of fairness. For some, to refer back to terminology that may seem out dated can cause consternation. After all, there are people who really don't want to hear about the differences between the male and female of the species.

There's Scientific Proof Of The Difference-As If We Didn't Know

Studies have been performed in the United States which clearly indicates a difference between the way the different sexes are able or unable to contend with various challenges during the developmental and birth processes. One thing that has become clear over time is that doctors need to try different approaches to treating premature baby boys versus prematurely born baby girls.

In a new study that has recently come out of Israel, there is a very strong suggestion that male babies have some significant differences from female babies - other than those that are normally expected.

A study done at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, Israel was conducted by Prof. Mark Glazerman, Dr. Nir Melamed and Dr. Yariv Yogev. Together, they examined 64,000 women who had their babies at Beilinson Hospital between the years of 1996 and 2000. They wanted to investigate the impact of the gender of the baby upon the process of the delivery.

The Impact Of Gender Upon Delivery

The findings were very revealing. It was discovered that there was a 70 percent increase in the likelihood of male babies being born prematurely over the rate of female premature births. Caesarean sections were needed ten percent more often and there was a need for vacuum delivery 50 percent more frequently. Also, little baby boys weighed in at a higher birth weight as measured against their gestational age. Conversely, baby girls were more likely to be breech births. While there hasn't been an investigation into the cause of the discrepancies, hormonal differences may play a significant role.

Is It Chromosomes?

Dr. Yariv Yogev said, "We know that the element differentiating males and females is the Y chromosome, and that may release substances that cause these results." Studies to this point have not indicated a difference between healthy mothers who are expecting and others who are ill. However, mothers who are ill will likely experience more difficulties and complications during the delivery of their babies than those who are healthy.

Consequently, Dr. Yogev said, "We took mothers without prior illnesses, all of whom gave birth at the same hospital. We did ‘clean' work and the results are clear."

According to Prof. Glazerman, "the importance of the medical world acknowledging the difference between the genders" is a significant result that has been emphasized.