Overweight Pregnant Women Affects Fertility of Newborn Sons but Not Daughters

Overweight pregnant women eventually affect the fertility of their newborn sons but not daughters, according to a new study in Denmark.

Researchers imply that women who have a body mass index (BMI) that falls within the category of being overweight has the potential to birth sons with fertility issues, which may include either impotence or infertility. Birthed daughters are not affected by this biological mystery.

Scientists in the new research used quantitative and statistical data to arrive at their conclusion, sampling thousands of men and women of Danish descent as participants of the study.

The research methodology used is only confined to Denmark at the time of reporting. With this, it is still unclear if ethnicity is also a factor that influences the health and function of fertility among male and females in other countries.

The latest discovery is perceived to be not fully known in the past. However, the breakthrough finding could be the first step towards addressing the mystery on the relation between overweight pregnant mothers and male infertility. Succeeding studies could also use it as a baseline to improve or create new theories regarding the matter, leading to possible medical treatments and therapy in the future.

Overweight Pregnant Women

(Photo : Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)

The new paper was published in the journal Scandinavian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, wherein researchers concluded that there is a correlation between maternal weight and fertility of sons, but does not apply when it comes to fertility of daughters.

The paper explored the so-called maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and infertility in sons and daughters as part of a cohort study. It supports the idea that overweight and obesity in pregnancy in increasing worldwide. With this, the research theorizes that having an excessive weight could harm the developing fetus, including its future reproductive health.

The research team used data from a total of 9,232 adult men and women, wherein 9.4% of the participants suffered from infertility, as summarized by studyfinds.org, a research and news website.

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Male Infertility

Relative to the Denmark study, previous studies have not directly linked male infertility to pre-pregnancy maternal weight.

However, the prevailing causes of male infertility are the following, according to Mayo Clinic:

abnormal sperm function or production
sperm delivery problems
environmental overexposure
reproductive health damage due to cancer and its treatment

Global Health Issue

Scientific evidence shows that the number of males with fertility problems vary per country, region, and even continents.

Although lifestyle, environment, genetics, and other factors are responsible for the reproductive impediment, statistical data agrees that male infertility is a major factor for couples who are trying to conceive a baby. This rationale is also based on the fact that females can also be infertile.

In particular, the clinic emphasizes that infertility not only for males but also for females could stem either since birth or develop later in life.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), couples within the 15% reproductive age are affected by infertility worldwide.

Being a global health issue, infertility affects approximately 48 million couples and 186 million individuals globally, according to available data as cited by the WHO.