Take it from someone with 7 nieces and only 1 nephew, I've often wondered if there really do seem to be more female births recently, or if it's just my own skewed perception. Today I happened to read one of Treehugger's "Quote of the Days," this one by author Devra Davis (The Secret History of the War on Cancer) on declining male births...

"In the United States and Japan, there has been a significant decline in the birth of baby boys. [...] Well, there's a theory of testicular dysgenesis, which means that there is something on the Y chromosome that is transmitted to boys that is affecting their overall health, and it may affect whether or not a boy sperm works to fertilize an egg.

Something is affecting fathers' ability to make baby boys, which may also be affecting the ability of the boys that are conceived to become fathers. It may be affecting sperm count, which is declining. It may also be affecting development of testicular cancer, which peaks in young men in their 20s. And these things are likely to be related to early life exposures to hormone-mimicking chemicals.

Pesticides, alcohol, lead and solvents have all been shown in occupational studies to reduce the ability of men to father boys and to increase the risk of birth defects in the babies that they have, including cancer. [...]"

Check out the full quote and let us know what you think. Have you been buying more "It's a Girl!" cards than ever before?