![]() The myths and truths of gender swaying. Can you really influence your baby's gender at conception? Photo: Getty Images. Online forums are filled with people sharing tips and success stories of methods to help conceive boys or girls. But are they just old wives tales or are some of them based on real science? Here are a few popular methods hopeful parents- to- be use to try to get a baby of their preferred gender – and what an expert says about whether they could really work. He believed Y sperm (which helps create a boy) were faster swimmers but had lower stamina, while X sperm (to create a girl) were slower swimmers but survived longer. Shettles thought that conceiving a girl was done by having sex a few days before ovulation, while conceiving a boy was more likely when sex took place on the day of ovulation or shortly afterwards. Other techniques, such as the Billings Method, encourage couples to time sex in the same way. Deeper sexual positions and female orgasm are also supposed to increase the chance of conceiving a boy by helping Y sperm move faster through the vagina. What the expert says: Associate Professor Steve Robson from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) agrees that Y sperm are smaller, but they don't necessarily move faster. I've never seen real evidence that these old- fashioned techniques work. ![]() Using this method to try and conceive a girl might mean some couples actually miss ovulation. Changing the p. HCertain gender swaying methods – including the Shettles method and the 0 +1. ![]() H levels within the woman's body affect cervical mucus (CM). A more alkaline environment is supposed to be more favourable for Y sperm, while X sperm are supposed to be more resilient in an acidic environment. ![]()
The 0 +1. 2 method is the opposite of the Shettles method, because it recommends sex takes place 8- 2. Both methods involve women using acidic or alkaline douches, but these aren't recommended by doctors as they can cause infections. Modern twists on douching include taking antihistamines during ovulation to 'dry up' CM, to try and make it easier for X sperm to thrive, or using Pre- seed lubricant to neutralise the vagina for Y sperm. Other methods, such as the French Gender Diet, recommend eating certain foods and taking supplements that are high in certain nutrients to alter the p. Gender Selection: What Is Your Personal pH? Natural Gender Swaying. Conceiving Baby Boy Through Diet. She is very expert in planning dream baby gender. H of CM. This includes calcium, cranberry and magnesium for conceiving girls, and potassium and sodium for conceiving boys. What the expert says: Professor Robson says the p. H of CM regularly changes, but this is just the natural cycle of the body, and not necessarily because of diet or other factors. The alkalinity of p. H during ovulation combined with semen helps to make things a little more sperm- friendly because neither X or Y sperm will survive in a really acidic environment. This is because he believed that men with lower sperm counts were more likely to conceive girls, while men with higher sperm counts usually conceived boys. Couples who use the 0+1. CM more hospitable for Y sperm. What the expert says: Professor Robson says abstaining from sex won't influence sperm production. Reductions in sperm concentration can be caused by many factors, including things such as the man having a fever. Negative ions are said to be produced in natural environments, while positive ions are more often found in environments with less air flow and artificial lighting. Some scientists, such as Dr Patrick Schoun, have suggested that negative ions help sway for girl babies and positive ions for boys. Bracelets and air purifiers that supposedly attract negative ions are available to help conceive girls. What the expert says: Professor Robson is dubious. Some women try to consume products that can affect these hormones, such as taking soy to encourage oestrogen production or eating more red meat to boost testosterone. Taking certain medications can also affect hormone levels at conception, as well as a woman's weight. Recently a study found high levels of glucose in mums- to- be resulted meant they were more likely to have a boy, and women who ate fewer kilojoules a day had more girls. What the expert says: Professor Robson says the body might favour one sex over another in certain circumstances. These are commonly affected by factors such as stress and general health – some research done in the UK a few years ago found that when women were stressed they were more likely to conceive a girl.. Join others who know what you're goig through in the Essential Baby forum. Can Your Habits Determine the Sex of Your Baby? If you're yearning to conceive a baby boy, can it really be as easy as eating breakfast cereal and a potassium- rich diet to tip the scales toward blue booties, as a recent study seems to indicate? If you want to welcome a bundle of pink, can tweaking your diet in other ways boost the chances? The recently reported research did find moms- to- be who favored breakfast cereal and a potassium- rich diet delivered more boys than moms who skipped breakfast and took in fewer calories. But experts contacted by Web. MD caution that the study simply found an association. There is no cause- and- effect proof that what you eat sways the outcome of conception, gender- wise, they say. But that doesn't stop people - - everyone from your Grandma to the stranger in your gynecologist's waiting room - - from suggesting a variety of approaches to influence the sex of your unborn child. The list goes far beyond breakfast cereal and potassium- rich foods like bananas. We asked reproductive experts, obstetricians, and those who promote some of the sex- selection methods to explain and weigh in on the options. Breakfast Cereal and Sex Selection. In a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 7. British women recalled what they ate the year before conception. Those who ate breakfast cereals and potassium- rich foods and consumed more total calories daily delivered more boys compared to those who skipped breakfast and ate fewer total calories. It's not certain whether the calories or the nutrients makes the difference, the researcher says, although the association is one that is seen in other animals, with well- fed mothers giving birth to males and less well- fed mothers delivering females. Among the evolutionary theories as to why girls or boys are conceived is that parents in good condition favor male offspring or that the availability of resources and other factors affects the sex ratio. One study, for instance, shows that underfed hamsters tend to deliver females while hamsters not restricted on diet do not.(What do you think about trying to determine the sex of your baby? Talk with others on Web. MD's Pregnancy: 1st Trimester message board.)Continued. Low- Tech Methods of Sex Selection. Methods to up the odds of conceiving a boy or a girl are plentiful. If you search the web for . Many of these approaches suggest one or more of the following techniques: Timing intercourse closer to ovulation for a boy, further away for a girl. The reasoning is that the . Some say this can be done by douching with water and vinegar to make the environment more acidic and girl- friendly and by douching with water and baking soda to make the environment more alkaline and boy- friendly. Adopting various positions during intercourse. For instance, the missionary position is recommended for producing girls; rear- entry for boys. But Steven Ory, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., area and past president of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, disagrees. Frieder, MD, a staff gynecologist at Santa Monica- UCLA & Orthopaedic Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. And finding an association between dietary habits or intercourse timing or other approaches and having more girl or boy babies is different than finding a cause and effect, he points out. The reality is there is nothing you can do that really matters. If a couple is trying interventions such as dietary changes or different positions or intercourse timing, he says, . And people tell their friends. In medicine, we call them anecdotes. Jericho Banks, Ph. D, a partner and owner of Gen Select, a preconception sex selection method sold online. By adjusting the body chemistry to be more acidic or more alkaline, he says, couples can boost the chances of conceiving their preferred sex. For instance, his company advises those who want a girl to avoid salt and eat a lot of protein. Making the vaginal environment and body chemistry . But nutritionists caution women not to skimp on calories or nutrients in the hopes of conceiving a girl, based on the recent study. But the method that suggests having intercourse before or after ovulation, depending on whether a boy or a girl is preferred, may actually reduce the chances of getting pregnant at all, Frieder says, if couples miscalculate their ovulation. In general, the overall chance of getting pregnant each month is fairly low, he says. If the intercourse occurs earlier or later, the odds of getting pregnant could decline, he says. As for the suggestion to douche, Frieder advises not. Gonzalez, MD, another gynecologist at Santa Monica- UCLA & Orthopaedic Hospital, agrees. Old wives' tales may deserve respect, she says, even if they aren't backed by scientific proof. If a method won't harm parents- to- be or the unborn baby, she says, she doesn't discourage it. But she cautions couples not to count on any of the methods working. Sources. SOURCES: Richard P. Frieder, MD, staff gynecologist, Santa Monica- UCLA & Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif. M. Jericho Banks, Ph. D, Gen. Select, Las Vegas. Allyson A. Gonzalez, MD, gynecologist, Santa Monica- UCLA & Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif. Steven Ory, MD, reproductive endocrinologist; past president, American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Mathews, F. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, April 2. Web. MD Medical News: . Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. All rights reserved.
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