There are ways that you may be able to influence the sex of the baby you conceive; however, the moment conception takes place, the sex of your baby is decided. So if you are keen to try to conceive a girl, there are some things you’ll need to do to prepare your body.
Even though none of these methods have been scientifically proven, many couples have tried them with success rates ranging from 50 to 90 percent. You can try just one method, or a combination, and for a bit of fun, also using the folklore techniques.
The Shettles method was developed by Dr Landrum B Shettles in the 1960s who claimed a 75 to 90 per cent success rate for this home gender selection method. Most of us are aware that the X chromosome sperm will produce a daughter, and the Y chromosome sperm will produce a son.
The Y-sperm swim fast, but only live for between 12 to 24 hours. This may be even shorter if the vaginal tract is too acidic. The X-sperm are slow-moving but live for longer. They can live for up to four days, waiting for the egg without weakening or dying out.
Considering the longer life of the X-sperm, you have a higher chance of conceiving a girl if you have sex a few days before ovulation, so the X-sperm are ready and waiting to penetrate the egg, and in theory the Y-sperm have all died off. Having sex around ovulation day will increase your chances of a boy as the Y-sperm will reach the egg faster than the X-sperm.
Store bought ovulation predictor kits are a useful tool in predicting ovulation, or you can use our ovulation calculator for a few cycles so that you can predict your ovulation period accurately.
You can also use other ways to pinpoint your time of ovulation, such as:
When planning for pregnancy, a healthy diet is important to boost natural fertility. Your diet can also affect your chances of conceiving a girl. A woman’s PH levels play an important role in the process of trying to conceive a girl. An acidic PH will give the X sperm a better chance of survival, since the environment will be too harsh for the Y-sperm. Eating specific foods can alter PH as well, in particular a diet high in magnesium, calcium and acidic foods are advised. Here are some examples of acidic food:
Here is the short list of foods to eat:
These are considered to be acidic foods. The more acidic your diet, the lower your PH level is going to be, making your body a pretty inhospitable place to be for the Y-sperm, allowing the X-sperm a greater chance of reaching the egg and fertilising it.
Using vaginal testing strips to test your PH level is also useful.
While the jury is still out on whether or not positions can influence the gender, there are some theories around it. If you’re seeking a girl, shallow penetration is recommended.
Deep penetration will increase the likelihood of the sperm landing deep inside the woman’s vagina near the cervix. Which means the Y-sperm will reach the egg before the X-sperm because they are faster swimmers.
Missionary position is recommended if you’re trying for a girl because your partner will most likely ejaculate the sperm at the entrance of the vagina, which is further from the cervix and more acidic. The acidity of the environment will be harsh on the weaker Y sperm, and is more favourable for the X-sperm to fertilise your egg.
A woman’s PH levels can influence the gender of the baby but the ph of a man’s sperm does not affect this in any way. No matter what his family history is (in terms of baby gender) and no matter what makes up his diet. Also, a man has a 50 / 50 ratio of Y to X sperm, unless there are male fertility problems.
The best thing a man can do is support his partner by understanding the Shettles method, supporting her to eat the right kinds of food, waiting until the time is right to have sex, and understanding sexual positions.
While there is no scientific evidence, there’s no harm in trying some of the following.
Click here to know more about the Chinese gender calendar chart or to use our free Chinese gender chart, just type in your lunar age and your month of conception below.