Silly question....

[dboo]

OK, so there hasn't been a boy born on my husband's direct family line for 5 generations or something. Hubby is one of 3 boys and his brothers have 2 boys each. We are expecting our first and surprise, surprise - it's a boy!
I had no preference so am happy but I am curious.
Is it possible that some men simply have fewer or no sperm with an 'X' chromosome?
Not sure how this would actually be tested and I have no idea of genetics, but just wondering........

[Hollywood]

Interesting question! I have no idea :D

[JiminyCricket]

Not sure about your theory but it could explain why we have 4 boys no girls.

[Aaliyahsmummy]

In my step dads family there has been no girls in an very very long time. Everyone said when my mum was pregnant with my brothers they were boys, cus girls just didn't happen. So I think yes there definatly has to be a genetic reason for it, wouldnt have a clue what tho!

[IndigoJ]

My son is the first boy in three generations that will carry on DPs family name.

[iMischa]

interesting...but nope apparently not.

http://www.in-gender.com/xyu/Conception/Conception2.aspx

"
Spermatogenesis: Equal X's and Y's For All!

It seems reasonable to think that if some men only have sons, they may only have Y sperm, or that fathers with all girls might have only X sperm. But in fact, years of testing have shown that virtually all men have a nearly equal number of X and Y sperm -- even men who have fathered only boys or girls.
The explanation for this is that the process by which sperm are formed -- spermatogenesis -- guarantees that an equal number of X and Y-sperm are produced. This is because X-sperm and Y-sperm aren't manufactured separately, but result from the division of an XY parent cell."

[gonnabeaGR8mum]

i was always of the understanding that it was the conditions of the mum's vagina and uterus that would determine the success or failure of specific genders (i.e. acidity etc) but also the whole timing thing where 'female' sperm live longer than "male' so maybe its more a matter of BD habits?

[dboo]

Thanks for the link...that's the kind of thing I was looking for actually. Interesting.

[sweetseven]

interesting...but nope apparently not.

http://www.in-gender.com/xyu/Conception/Conception2.aspx

"
Spermatogenesis: Equal X's and Y's For All!

It seems reasonable to think that if some men only have sons, they may only have Y sperm, or that fathers with all girls might have only X sperm. But in fact, years of testing have shown that virtually all men have a nearly equal number of X and Y sperm -- even men who have fathered only boys or girls.
The explanation for this is that the process by which sperm are formed -- spermatogenesis -- guarantees that an equal number of X and Y-sperm are produced. This is because X-sperm and Y-sperm aren't manufactured separately, but result from the division of an XY parent cell."Quantity vs Quality.

The problem with that is that it doesn't mention quality at all. For example, I've heard suggestion that Henry VIII's male sperm were unhealthy whilst his female sperm were healthy. And it seems reasonable that the same might apply for other men.

[chickpea]

That is interesting, and something I have thought about as in my DH family, there are no girls, at all, for as long as anyone knows. Even my DHs Dad who was married twice, had 5 boys to two different women. All my DHs brothers have had boys so far, so I am fully expecting a boy!! I know it is supposed to be 50/50 chance but surely if in so many generations there is only one gender there must be something to it?

[prjn]

dh and i have 2 boys, dh's brother has two boys, their dad had two boys (obviously) and his dad had two boys and then a girl...so fingers crossed that maybe just maybe we might get lucky if we go for a third.

[Countrydeb]

dh and i have 2 boys, dh's brother has two boys, their dad had two boys (obviously) and his dad had two boys and then a girl...so fingers crossed that maybe just maybe we might get lucky if we go for a third.
It amazes me how it all works tho i know they say the male determines the sex of the child[unfairly too i feel] I am from a family of 3 girls to a single mum and we have 7 sons and only 1 daughter between us......

[cwsmum]

Our daughter is the first girl on my hubbys side in over 50yrs. His dad had 1 sister, who went on to have daughters (to a man who has only sisters lol). DHs older brother has 2 sons...as do we...his younger brother hasn't had children yet.
I think it might be to do with the quality of the sperm too, we know Dhs mum had a few miscarriages and ended up with 3 sons. My mum also had a couple and there is 4 girls in my family...and one boy who is the youngest.
I also know quite a few people who have had lots of miscarriages one after another then when they finally get a pregnancy that doesn't end that way it is the same sex as their other children.
It seems to be one of those things that may be affected by things like lifestyle and also the age of the parents...but then I could be totally wrong there too LOL Life would be pretty boring if we knew the answers to everything tho :)