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Stressed out expectant mothers are more likely to have gay babies, according to scientists.

A new controversial book reveals that exposure to stress in the womb can up a person's likelihood of becoming homosexual.

The book "We Are Our Brains" by Dutch neuroscientist Dick Swaab also claims that smoking or taking drugs during pregnancy can increase a baby's chances of growing up gay.

In his book, Swaab says that a person's sexuality is determined in the womb and cannot be altered, according to the Daily Mail.

"Although it's frequently assumed that development after birth also importantly affects our sexual orientation, there's no proof of this whatsoever," Swaab writes.

"Children brought up by lesbians aren't more likely to be homosexual. Nor is there any evidence at all for the misconception that homosexuality is a 'lifestyle choice'," he explained.

Swaab believes that the even the tiniest chemical changes can dramatically alter brain development during pregnancy. He explained that a drug given to two million mothers to prevent miscarriages during the 1940s and 1950s significantly increased the likelihood of bisexuality and homosexuality in their babies.

"Pre-birth exposure to nicotine or amphetamines also increases the likelihood of lesbian daughters," he wrote. "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."

"The more older brothers a boy has, the greater the chance that he will be homosexual," he added.

"This is due to a mother's immune response to male substances produced by boy babies in the womb, a response that becomes stronger with each pregnancy," Swaab explained.