The biggest family responsibility is the birth of a child. Many lovers are looking forward to this event, and during pregnancy more and more questions arise regarding the name, gender and appearance of the unborn baby.
A bit of intrigue
From the very first days, as soon as a young couple finds out that she will become the parents of a small miracle, fortune-telling begins: a boy or a girl, who the child will look like, dark or light, mother’s or father’s eyes?
Many believe that if you surround a pregnant woman with beautiful works of art and often include classical music, then the future child will be born a charming creature with creativity and excellent musical ear.
In India, the girls who are preparing for conception imagine Krishna at the moment of intimacy in order to endow their child with the outward features and wisdom of the deity. What can we say about the many techniques, special positions and diets designed to “help” mom and dad give birth to a child of the desired sex?
Genetics in this regard are smiling condescendingly, because for the scientific community a similar “philosophy” has no evidence, which means it cannot be taken seriously. How, in fact, is the formation of the external features and character of the unborn baby? Is it possible to predict with certainty who the child will look like? Let's get it together.
Prince or princess?
In this matter, Her Majesty Chromosome rules the ball. Gametes in men carry either the X chromosome or the Y chromosome. The number of both is equal. The gender of the unborn child depends on the type of chromosome that fertilizes the egg. I came to the finish line of the first X chromosome - expect a girl, won the baton of the Y chromosome - an heir will be born.
The birth rate of boys is slightly higher than that of the fair sex. The assumptions of scientists are that genetically male children are more susceptible to disease. The boys' body is less resistant to all kinds of viruses, including diseases that are transmitted from generation to generation. Consequently, the mortality rate among the stronger sex is slightly higher than that of girls. In this way, wise nature tries to balance the number of men and women.
Who will the unborn child look like?
It is widely believed that boys are born similar to their mother, and girls outwardly copy their father. The statement can be considered quite reasonable, but only half. The mystery lies in the X chromosome, which is many times richer than the other. And since boys receive only one such chromosome from their mother, the probability that the son will inherit the external features of the mother is very high. When a girl is conceived, the embryo receives chromosome X from each of the parents. Therefore, here the stakes are equal: the future princess can inherit both her mother's and father's appearance.
Strong and weak
Back in school, we were taught that there are two types of genes: dominant - “strong” genes, and recessive - genes “weak”. If the choice arises which one will pass on hereditary information to the unborn child, then in the overwhelming majority of cases the dominant one wins. Given this theory, we can assume who the child looks like, according to the photo of the parents.
Blue or brown
The darker the color of the eyes, the stronger the gene carrying this information. If mom’s eyes are bright and dad’s brown, then the percentage of appearance of the baby with the eyes of his father is much higher. If both parents have dark eyes, then the likelihood that a child with sky-colored eyes is born is very small and amounts to about 6%. Nevertheless, there is a possibility. And even if mom and dad have blue eyes, it also happens that a baby with brown eyes is born.
Why does it happen that the child does not look like parents? Scientists agree that not a single gene can be responsible for a certain external trait of a new person, but a group that carries different information. And when such a joint work produces an unpredictable result, you need to calmly relate to such a surprise, and not run to the nearest clinic to take DNA tests.
Dominant appearance
Of course, the eye color of the future child is not the only question that parents are interested in. The dominant genes, the list of which is very extensive, will determine who the child looks like more, like mom or dad. One thing is clear: if the family has a distinctive external feature (protruding ears, a nose with a hump, a dimple on the chin, a birthmark or left-handedness of one of the parents), most likely, the baby will easily inherit it.
Hair color and structure
Recessive genes carry information about blond hair, dominant ones about dark hair. Who will the child look like if mom has bright, almost white curls, and dad is a burning brunette, it's not hard to guess. The baby will inherit the hair color of his father. In a blonde couple, a child with a dark hair is rarely born. Curly or curly hair is a sign of a dominant gene. Under equal conditions, he wins, and the child inherits the curls of one of the parents.
Giant or shorty
On the issue of growth, not everything is so simple, because this indicator is influenced not only by heredity, but also by many other factors: the balanced nutrition of the mother during pregnancy, the environment and the ecological situation in which the child grew up, illnesses, sports.
With a successful combination of all these factors, the child reaches an average between mom and dad. Information of small stature carries a dominant gene. The situation can be corrected by giving a short boy basketball. This sport will give an additional impetus to growth and add a couple of centimeters to your heir.
Character traits
The character of the baby is formed not only genetically. This includes the behavior of others, and upbringing, and other social relations. The child can inherit the temperament of one of the parents or collect in himself his own set of traits from each. Already in the first months you can see whose character dominates the little man: whether he is active and inquisitive, or calm and living in his inner world.
Intellectual abilities, ear for music and craving for drawing are also inherited by the child from their parents. Here is the phrase: “She has a perfect ear, like mine!” - It will sound quite appropriate. In addition to facial features, the child inherits facial expressions from his parents. It is proved that children do not just copy the facial expressions of their parents, mimic similarity is the result of genetic heredity. After all, even blind children are able to outwardly repeat their parents.
Telegonia
The term came to us from the Greek language and in translation means "born far away". In simple terms, this is a theory that claims that when close to a female, the male leaves his genetic information in the female’s body, even if the merger did not bring children from him. Subsequently, offspring from another male already receives a set of both external and internal traits of each male representative who has been in the womb of the female.
It all began in the 19th century with the case when the practicing zoologist Count Morton decided as an experiment to cross a thoroughbred mare with an African zebra stallion. The experiments were unsuccessful. The mare did not produce offspring. Everything would be fine, but after a few years the same mare gives birth to a foal with obvious signs of a zebra (already from a male of its kind)! Naturally, scientific minds wondered if there was a telegraphy effect among people?
Followers of this theory argue that cases where the first child resembles the first man of a woman are not so rare. But experimentally, this has not yet been proven. Experiments on the crossing of various species of animals and birds did not bring evidence.
How can genetic information be stored in a woman’s body for several months, or even years? How can a child look like the first man if ten, fifteen, or even twenty years have passed after intimacy? The sperm can live in the vagina for several hours, in the uterus for no more than three days. Then he dies, as well as all the genetic information that he carried in himself.
It is not possible to scientifically substantiate the theory of telegony with all desire. But followers of the moral purity of the female population clung to it, defending the moral side of the family aspect and virginity of the future wife. Supporters of the “revival of a pure family” claim that all the girl’s sexual partners that she had before her marriage leave their imprint on children born into a lawful marriage. They explain this phenomenon and the high incidence of the current generation, because a woman "accumulates" in itself all the errors of the genetic heredity of each partner. People of science are skeptical of such an unconfirmed phenomenon as telegony.
Psychologists confirm that parents often want the child to have similar external features with them. So it is easier for them to accept and be proud of their child. But is it important who the child will look like? Isn’t it more important to see your baby healthy and happy, even if no hairstyle can hide his protruding ears ?