How to Optimize Your Baby’s Genes Before Birth: A Guide for Expecting Parents
Even before the baby is born, mothers often debate with their fathers about the gender and appearance of the child in their womb. Do they wish their baby to inherit their eyes or his nose? Their physique or his intelligence?
However, which parent’s genes determine everything about a child? Let us explore this question together!
Height inheritance: a balanced mix of both parents.
Besides nutritional status, 70% of the influence on a child’s height comes from the parents. The genetic makeup of the parents is the main factor that determines the height of the child, because 35% of the factors that affect height are derived from the father and 35% from the mother. If both parents are short, then the child’s height depends on their 30% effort in the future.
Intelligence inheritance: Mom.
Intelligence is partly hereditary and partly influenced by environmental factors such as nutrition and education. According to scientists’ estimates, genetics accounts for about 50%-60% of the impact on intelligence. From a genetic perspective, mothers who are smart tend to give birth to smart children. If they have a son, he will be even smarter. The reason is that human genes related to intelligence are mainly located on the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes and men have only one, so the mother’s intelligence plays a more important role in inheritance.
To illustrate this point, let’s review some high school biology knowledge: how are boys and girls produced.
Boys are XY, X (egg) comes from the mother and Y (sperm) comes from the father.
Girls are XX, X (egg) comes from the mother, X (sperm) comes from the father.
Therefore, it is the husband’s responsibility to determine whether the child is a boy or a girl, so don’t blame the mother for not meeting your expectations.
Please note that boys are XY, so boys’ intelligence is entirely inherited from their mothers. Girls are XX, so girls’ intelligence is equally influenced by both parents.
Because girls’ intelligence is influenced by both parents, there will be a neutralizing effect, so girls’ intelligence will show a normal distribution (bell curve), which is highest in the middle and lowest at both ends.
However, because boys are only influenced by one parent, boys’ intelligence will show a skewed distribution towards two extremes. In other words, there are more geniuses among boys, but at the same time, there are also more fools among boys.
These tell us:
01. To judge whether a boy is smart or not, just look at his mother.
02. Then we use probability to calculate:
Probability of having a boy = 1/2; Probability of having a girl = 1/2.
When having a boy, the mother’s influence on the boy’s intelligence = 1.
When having a girl, the mother’s influence on the girl’s intelligence = 1/2.
So, if you:
01. If you are a boy and feel dumb, you must marry a smart girl. In this way, there is still a 75% chance of your child being smart, and life is still full of hope.
02. If you are a girl and feel dumb, because you have a 75% chance of reversing your fate, you should try to have a girl.
03. When you see a boy who is smart, the probability that his father is smart is 0% (it should be said that even if his father is smart, it has no effect on him), but the probability that his mother is smart is 100%.
Then, if you are thinking about marrying a very smart boy, you have to be careful of his mother, who may be a scheming mother-in-law.
Here is my attempt to improve your article:
“Long before the baby is born, mothers often dispute with their fathers about the sex and resemblance of the child in their womb. Do they hope their baby will have their eyes or his nose? Their physique or his intelligence?
However, which parent’s genes determine everything about a child? Let us investigate this matter together!
Height inheritance: an equal blend of both parents.
Apart from nutritional status, 70% of the effect on a child’s height comes from the parents. The genetic constitution of the parents is the main factor that determines the height of the child, because 35% of the factors that influence height are inherited from the father and 35% from the mother. If both parents are short, then the child’s height depends on their 30% endeavor in the future.
Intelligence inheritance: Mom.
Intelligence is partly hereditary and partly affected by environmental factors such as nutrition and education. According to scientists’ evaluations, genetics accounts for about 50%-60% of the impact on intelligence. From a genetic perspective, mothers who are smart tend to give birth to smart children. If they have a son, he will be even smarter. The reason is that human genes related to intelligence are mainly situated on the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes and men have only one, so the mother’s intelligence plays a more important role in inheritance.
To demonstrate this point, let’s revisit some high school biology knowledge: how are boys and girls produced.
Boys are XY, X (egg) comes from the mother and Y (sperm) comes from the father.
Girls are XX, X (egg) comes from the mother, X (sperm) comes from the father.
Therefore, it is the husband’s responsibility to determine whether the child is a boy or a girl, so don’t blame the mother for not fulfilling your expectations.
Please note that boys are XY, so boys’ intelligence is entirely inherited from their mothers. Girls are XX, so girls’ intelligence is equally influenced by both parents.
Because girls’ intelligence is influenced by both parents, there will be a neutralizing effect, so girls’ intelligence will show a normal distribution (bell curve), which is highest in the middle and lowest at both ends.
However, because boys are only influenced by one parent, boys’ intelligence will show a skewed distribution towards two extremes. In other words, there are more geniuses among boys, but at the same time, there are also more fools among boys.
These tell us:
01. To judge whether a boy is smart or not, just look at his mother.
02. Then we use probability to calculate:
Probability of having a boy = 1/2; Probability of having a girl = 1/2.
When having a boy, the mother’s influence on the boy’s intelligence = 1.
When having a girl, the mother’s influence on the girl’s intelligence = 1/2.
So, if you:
01. If you are a boy and feel stupid, you must marry a smart girl. In this way, there is still a 75% chance of your child being smart, and life is still full of hope.
02. If you are a girl and feel stupid, because you have a 75% chance of changing your destiny, you should try to have a girl.
03. When you see a boy who is smart, the probability that his father is smart is 0% (it should be said that even if his father is smart, it has no effect on him), but the probability that his mother is smart is 100%.
Then, if you are thinking about marrying a very smart boy, you have to be careful of his mother, who may be a cunning mother-in-law.”
Personality inheritance: Dad.
Personality is a great inheritance from the father. Although there are innate elements in the formation of personality, it is mainly influenced by acquired factors. In comparison, the father’s influence will be greater than that of the mother. Among them, the role of fatherly love has a greater impact on daughters.
According to one psychologist, “Fathers play an important role in shaping their daughters’ sense of self-esteem, identity, and tenderness.”
Some experts pointed out that fathers can impart many important lessons and experiences in life to their daughters, making their daughters more diverse.
Appearance inheritance: It depends on specific cases.
Skin color : It always follows the natural law of “multiply and then average”, leaving no choice. If both parents have dark skin, there will never be a child with fair and delicate skin; if one parent has light skin and the other has dark skin, most of the children will have an “intermediate” skin tone, and there may be cases where one parent’s skin color is more dominant.
Eye shape : The child’s eye shape and size are inherited from their parents, and large eyes are dominant over small eyes. If one of the parents has large eyes, the child with large eyes may be larger.
Double eyelids : Double eyelids are a dominant inheritance, and the baby with single eyelids and double eyelids is very likely to have double eyelids. But both parents have single eyelids, and most children also have single eyelids.
Eye Color : Darker colors such as black are dominant over lighter ones. In other words, people with black and blue eyes will not have blue-eyed children.
Eyelashes : Long eyelashes are also dominantly inherited. As long as one of the parents has long eyelashes, the possibility of the child inheriting long eyelashes is very high.
Nose : Generally speaking, large, high and wide nostrils are dominantly inherited. If one of the parents has a straight nose, the possibility of passing it on to the child is very high. The genetic inheritance of the nose will continue into adulthood. When you are a child, you have a short nose, and you may become a tall nose in adulthood.
Ears : The shape of the ears is inherited, with large ears being dominant relative to small ears. As long as one of the parents has big ears, the child is very likely to have big ears too.
Jaw : It is a dominant inheritance that cannot be “negotiable”. Either parent has a protruding big chin, and the children often have exactly the same chin without exception, and the “likeness” is a bit bizarre.
Obesity : Children will have a 53% chance of becoming obese. If one of the parents is obese, the probability of the child’s obesity will drop to 40%. This shows that about half of being fat or not being fat can be determined by human factors. Therefore, parents can completely keep themselves in shape through reasonable diet and sufficient exercise.
Baldness : God seems to favor women, so that baldness is only passed on to men. For example, if the father is bald, the probability of passing it on to the son is 50%. Even the father of the mother will leave a 25% probability of his baldness to his grandchildren.
Acne : This facial disease that makes boys and girls worry about it is actually related to genetics. Because if both parents have suffered from acne, the prevalence rate of children will be several times higher than those without family history.
Leg shape : The fat-accumulated legs that resemble parents can be shaped into slender and strong legs through sufficient exercise. However, if the legs are too long or too short due to genetics, they cannot be reshaped, and they can only be left to themselves.
How to optimize your genes before the baby is born?
01. My husband and I both have dark complexions, but I don’t want my baby to be a dusky angel.
Couples with dark skin who want to have fair babies can eat more foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C interferes with the production of melanin in the skin, reduces melanin deposition, and makes the baby’s skin pale, soft and smooth.
Recommended foods: tomatoes, grapes, citrus fruits, cauliflower, winter melon, onion, garlic, apples, prickly pears, fresh dates and other vegetables and fruits, among which apples are the best.
02. My husband and I both have dry skin, which tends to crack in winter. How can we prevent our baby from suffering from this problem?
Couples with rough skin should eat more foods rich in vitamin A, which can protect skin epithelial cells and make the child’s skin delicate and shiny in the future.
Recommended foods: animal liver, egg yolk milk, carrots, tomatoes and green vegetables, fruits, dried fruits and vegetable oils.
03. My family has a gene for blond hair. My sister’s child still has blond hair at the age of one. Will my baby inherit it like this?
If the couple’s hair quality is not good, pregnant women can eat more foods containing vitamin B group, which can improve the quality of the child’s hair, making it not only thick and black, but also glossy and silky.
