background: gender preference is prevalent in some communities and using medical techniques to choose the baby’s sex may cause the gender discrimination and gender imbalance in communities. therefore, evaluating the gender preferences and attitudes towards using sex selection technologies seems to be necessary. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in avicenna fertility center. part...

The effectiveness and clinical utility of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for fetal sex determination using cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) was assessed by undertaking a prospective national audit of UK testing. NIPD was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of the DYS14 or SRY gene in cffDNA extracted from maternal plasma. All cases referred for fetal sex determinati...

Fetal lung development progresses in a sex-specific manner with male fetuses exhibiting delayed maturation. Androgens, both exogenous and endogenous, inhibit while epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances fetal lung development. We hypothesized that one mechanism responsible for the delay in male fetal lung development is an androgen-induced delay in EGF receptor binding activity. We measured EGF...

Data from the Annual Reports of the Registrar-General for England an d Wales (1939-1947) and for Scotland (1939-1947) were examined to determine the relationship of sex ratio to maternal age. Sex ratios of total births and live births decrease with maternal age; sex ratios of stillbirths increase. The increase in the sex ratio of stillbirths with maternal age accounts for the difference betwe...

This longitudinal observational study investigated whether fetuses change their hand preference with gestational age, and also examined the effects of maternal stress on lateralized fetal self-touch. Following ethical approval, fifteen healthy fetuses (8 girls and 7 boys), were scanned four times from 24-36 weeks gestation. Self-touch behaviours which resulted in a touch of the fetal face/head ...

CONTEXT Maternal smoking during pregnancy has adverse effects on the offspring (eg, increased likelihood of metabolic syndrome and infertility), which may involve alterations in fetal liver function. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to analyze, for the first time, the human fetal liver proteome to identify pathways affected by maternal smoking. DESIGN Fetal liver proteins extracted from elective secon...

OBJECTIVE To provide an introduction to new technologies involving maternal plasma cell-free fetal DNA for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis and screening in obstetrics. OPTIONS Limited to introductory discussion of maternal plasma cell-free fetal DNA. EVIDENCE MEDLINE was searched to identify publications related to the topic after 1996. This document represents an abstraction of the informa...

STUDY QUESTION Do sex and maternal smoking effects on human fetal anogenital distance (AGD) persist in a larger study and how do these data integrate with the wider literature on perinatal human AGD, especially with respect to sex differences? SUMMARY ANSWER Second trimester sex differences in AGD are broadly consistent with neonatal and infant measures of AGD and maternal cigarette smoking i...

Abstract Airborne pollution particles have been shown to translocate from the mother’s lung fetal circulation but their placental-fetal distribution and internal tissue load remain poorly explored. Here, we investigated of diesel engine exhaust during gestation under controlled exposure conditions using a pregnant rabbit model. Pregnant dams were exposed by nose-only inhalation either clean air...

In many species, including mammals, sex determination is genetically based. The sex chromosomes that individuals carry determine sex identity. Although the genetic base of phenotypic sex is determined at the moment of fertilization, the development of testes or ovaries in the bipotential early gonads takes place during embryogenesis. During development, sex determination depends upon very few c...