Gender of child is determined by the male partner of couple. Explain with reasons whether this statement is true or false.

True. The gender of the child depends on whether the sperm from the father carries an X or a Y chromosome.

• A woman has 44 + XX chromosomes, so every oocyte she produces carries 22 + X.
• A man has 44 + XY, so meiosis produces two kinds of sperms in equal numbers: 22 + X and 22 + Y.
• If a 22 + X sperm fertilizes the oocyte, the zygote is 44 + XX and a girl is born.
• If a 22 + Y sperm fertilizes the oocyte, the zygote is 44 + XY and a boy is born.

Since the mother always contributes an X chromosome, it is the father's sperm that decides the gender. Blaming the mother for the birth of a girl is therefore scientifically wrong, and practices like female foeticide must be stopped.