Gender Selection
Boy or Girl: Can I Choose?
Compiled by The Cradle Staff
here are two ways to go about gender selection:
At-home, non-invasive techniques
In-office procedures, which involve medical intervention
The at-home methods can range from conceiving in the north wind to timing conception around ovulation, while the medical procedures are more accurate but time-consuming and financially exhaustive.
First, let’s run through the two-minute junior high school biology class:
A baby’s gender is established when it receives the two sex chromosomes from its parents. Its mother has two x chromosomes (from which the egg already has one) and the father has an x and a y chromosome (so they can receive either one). Just like its parents, if the combination is xx, the baby is a girl; if it is xy, the baby is a boy. Studies state that men’s sperm are divided 50/50 between the x carriers and y carriers, although in some rare cases, the ratio is skewed.
So… we come to the question: How can you affect which sperm will fertilize the egg? Listed below are a number of at-home techniques, followed by medical procedures, that all claim to have an impact on your resulting bundle of joy.
AT HOME – NON-INVASIVE TECHNIQUES
Shettles Method
This decades-old method is the most popular of at-home techniques since it is based on the scientific premise that sperm carrying the male y chromosome and sperm carrying the female x chromosome have different properties. The theory behind the method is that couples can take advantage of these differences and influence which sperm will make it to the lucky egg.
Further, the late Dr. Landrum Shettles claimed “authoritative scientific studies” and “compelling anecdotal evidence” that endorse the method’s success.
Here’s the gist of the method: The “male” sperm are apparently faster and smaller, but they die more quickly than their counterparts. The “female” sperm are slower but stronger, with the ability to endure the acidic cervical environment before fertile cervical fluid is produced.
Based on these traits, it is recommended that couples who are hoping for a girl have intercourse two to three days prior to anticipated ovulation and not have intercourse again until two days after ovulation. The presumption is that the x-carrying sperm might be slower than their counterparts, but they will still be around when the egg makes its appearance. By that time, the y-carrying sperm will have died.
In hopes of a boy, the recommendation is to schedule intercourse right around ovulation. That way, those fast x-carrying sperm will beat out their female counterparts and speed their way to the awaiting egg.
There are other recommendations for the Shettles Method as well:
Position: Deeper penetration for a boy (to deposit those quick sperm closer to their goal); more shallow for a girl (so the strong female-laden sperm will outlive the male swimmers on their longer journey to the egg).
Female Orgasm: Go for it if you’re hoping for a boy (since the alkaline secretions increased by a female orgasm create a more favorable environment for those princes-to-be); hold off for a girl (since these sperm prefer the acidic setting).
Alas, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1995 concluded that "the timing of sexual intercourse in relation to ovulation has no influence on the sex of the baby.”
Unfortunately, if you've been having trouble conceiving, you may find that trying to time your conception may only extend your fertility efforts.
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