Boys are 14 Percent More Prone to Preterm Births than Girls - Study

A recent research found that boys are 14 percent more prone to premature births than girls as girls develop faster in the womb compared to boys.

The study was carried out by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with Dr. Joy Lawn as the leading author along with 50 researchers from 35 institutions. The research found that boys are 14 percent more likely to be born premature than a girl child.

"Throughout development, girls are a little bit ahead of boys. Girls walk before boys, they talk before boys and it's also true in utero," Dr. Lawn said in a statement as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Lawn explained that babies born after 37 weeks are comparatively more mature and would have more survival chances than premature babies.

 This research also sheds light on the fact that out of approximately 135 million total births around 15 million premature babies are born globally every year. Above 1 million babies die due to premature birth, and around 75 percent of them can be saved by simply treating them with antibiotics. Under developed nations are 10 times more prone to preterm baby deaths compared to the developed countries.

Premature births lead to health problems like difficulty in breathing, blindness and cerebral palsy. According to the findings of the study, these health problems are responsible for about 10 percent of illnesses globally. Researchers are still figuring out what makes boys more susceptible to preterm birth.

"Boys face a triple whammy," stated Dr. Lawn. "They are more likely to be born preterm, and if they are, they have a greater risk of death, disability or blindness. And even when they are full term, they have a higher risk of birth complications such as jaundice and infection."

Dr. Lawn mentioned about another study conducted by Scandinavian researchers, which points out that women pregnant with male fetus are more susceptible to placenta problems.

Various theories are prevalent  to explain what makes boys more vulnerable than girls at the time of birth. A theory states that woman's body may give autoimmune response to the male tissues causing inflammation in the placenta, resulting in lesser supply of nutrition and oxygen to the fetus, as per an old research conducted by Dr. Marianne Legato, founder of the Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine, New York.    

He also said that female babies often turn weaker and male babies turn stronger a few months after birth due to reasons like gender discrimination and lack of care and medication for girls.

Men eventually grow stronger and bigger than women, this may be evolutionary, Dr. Legato explained. "The genes that create higher height and stronger muscle are favored in terms of survival."

The new research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The authors of the study aim at curbing preterm births and released their study corresponding to the World Prematurity Day, which is on Sunday, Nov. 17.