A neurobiologist suggests than pregnant women who smoke cigarettes, drink or take drugs during pregnancy, can increase the likelihood of your child being gay.
In his controversial new book, Dick Swaab, professor of neurobiology at Amsterdam University, believes that a child’s sexuality is determined while in the womb, and cannot be altered. He also states the some of the causes include vices like smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs and even stress.
While many argue that homosexuality is mostly affected by upbringing or a lifestyle choice, Swaab insists that there is no proof that development after birth affects a child’s sexual orientation.
Here are some of the statements found in his book, We Are Our Brains:
Pre-birth exposure to nicotine or amphetamines also increases the likelihood of lesbian daughters.
The more older brothers a boy has, the greater the chance that he will be homosexual.
Pregnant woman suffering from stress are also more likely to give birth to homosexual children, because their raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol affect the production of fetal sex hormones.
Swaab doesn’t only address homosexuality in his book. He also claims that annoying behavior among teenagers is evolution’s way of preventing incest, and that difficult births can cause autism, anorexia and schizophrenia in children.
It’s no surprise that a pregnant woman’s lifestyle has a major impact on a baby, but to say that these vices causes the “gay gene” seems a little far-fetched.
