London – The secret of whether a woman is expecting a boy or a girl may lie in her scent, say scientists.
Research shows that mothers-to-be who are carrying male babies smell differently to those carrying girls.
The study, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, is the first to make such a link between smell and gender.
And although the study looked at lemurs, US researchers say the same could be true in humans.
The scientists from Duke University in North Carolina swabbed 12 ring-tailed lemurs before and during pregnancy.
Chemical analysis showed that the hundreds of ingredients that make up the lemurs’ musky smell changed during pregnancy – with the biggest change happening in those who had male babies.
It is thought that ‘dramatic’ differences in the mother-to-be’s hormones affected her scent.
And asked whether the same might apply in women, researcher Christine Drea said: ‘In broad strokes, yes, there is reason to believe that there may be similar mechanisms across primates, including humans.’
Daily Mail