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Big Brother Is ... Stealing Your Fertility

Having an older bro reduces your odds of having kids, study finds

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 19, 2008 2:55 PM CST

(Newser) – If you have an older brother, odds are slightly greater you won’t be having kids, especially if you live in pre-industrial Finland. According to a new study, which examined the birth, marriage, and death records of three generations of pre-industrial Finlanders, found that those with older brothers were 5% less likely to become parents than those with older sisters.

That disparity applied to both men and women, which researchers believe indicates that the disparity has a biological basis rather than simply a cultural one. It’s possible the stress of carrying a boy damages a woman’s womb, slightly affecting the next child’s health. Those effects could be “spread over a variety of physiological systems,” they said. A previous study, for example, shows that children with older brothers tend to be shorter.

A girl smiles at her big brother, unaware that he has diminished her chance of having children.
A girl smiles at her big brother, unaware that he has diminished her chance of having children.   (Shutterstock)
Having a boy may be so stressful on a woman's womb that later children suffer slightly.
Having a boy may be so stressful on a woman's womb that later children suffer slightly.   (Shutterstock)
Two siblings sit frowning after hearing these scientific findings.
Two siblings sit frowning after hearing these scientific findings.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Guest
Nov 22, 2008 12:10 AM CST
shorter than what?
Guest
Nov 20, 2008 5:20 AM CST
I have G,B,G,B,B,G,B.

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