Maternal Personality, Evolution and the Sex Ratio: Do Mothers Control the Sex of the Infant?

Rating:
Summary: academic detective story - great read
Review: Compassionate and humanistic, this book examines the academic evidence for the authorÕs hypothesis that a womanÕs body, personality and behavior determines the sex of the infant. This clearly written and easily accessible book reads like a good detective story. It takes the reader, whether university lecturer, parent-to-be or college student through the labyrinthine twists and turns of the latest studies in developmental psychology, evolutionary biology, animal behavior and reproductive physiology to the authorÕs simple yet profound conclusion: the gender of the infant is not a matter of chance, it rests with the mother.The book is a refreshing reminder of the need for dialogue between the different academic disciplines, and it is not accidental that such a book comes out of New Zealand, and that it is written by a woman academic, Dr Valerie Grant, lecturer in Behavioural Science at the School of Medicine, University of Auckland. The author combines academic rigor with a breadth of research and learning in a broad range of fields. While her conclusions will be controversial and unacceptable to many, both her hypothesis and her on-going research may shed a revolutionary light on one of the most fascinating questions every pregnant mother ponders: is it a boy or a girl?