How to conceive a girl or a boy: only scientific ways

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

No matter how hard scientists try, it is not always possible to set the gender of a child.

If you are just having sex in a comfortable environment, the chances of conceiving a boy or girl are about the same. Choosing the Sex of Your Child is 50/50. But this can be influenced.

What the gender of the unborn child can depend on

At first glance, everything is simple: if an egg cell is fertilized by a sperm with a Y chromosome, a boy will be conceived. If X is a girl. It would seem that it is enough to somehow influence the composition of the sperm so that the necessary chromosomes are the first to enter the egg, and the job is done. But no.

Statistics show that the sex of a child can depend not only on sperm, but also on the physical condition and lifestyle of future dads and mothers. Here are just a few examples of Deciding Baby's Sex.

Mom's nutrition

Scientists asked Mom’s Diet May Influence Her Baby’s Sex 740 women who had just given birth to remember what they ate before conception. It turned out that if the expectant mother gives preference to foods rich in potassium, eats cereals for breakfast and gets a large number of calories every day, then the likelihood of having a boy is higher.

There is something in this, since a similar pattern is observed in nature. For example, malnourished hamsters usually produce females, while well-fed hamsters produce males.

Parent stress level

As the researchers of Community psychological stressor-induced secondary sex ratio decline after a seismic sequence in the Greek island of Zakynthos found out, during the two years after the earthquake on the island of Zakynthos, far fewer boys were born than girls.

Scientists suggest that more fragile sperm with a Y-chromosome do not survive during periods of high psychological stress. In addition, stress can affect the hormone levels in the mother's body and cause the egg to give preference to sperm with the X chromosome.

Father's financial situation

According to some reports, Do These 5 Things Really Influence a Baby's Gender?, men who grew up in prosperity and inherited a large fortune from their family are more likely to have boys. This trend does not apply to female heiresses, as well as those who have achieved financial success on their own.

Maternal blood pressure

In 2017, Canadian endocrinologist Ravi Retnakaran discovered the Maternal Blood Pressure Before Pregnancy and Sex of the Baby: A Prospective Preconception Cohort Study, the relationship between the level of pressure in expectant mothers and the birth of a child of a certain gender. The blood pressure in women was measured approximately 26 weeks before conception.

Those with higher rates were more likely to give birth to boys. Ravi called the pressure "an as yet unrecognized biological factor in gender balance."

Remember, these are just statistics. There is no evidence that dietary changes or other factors always affect the sex of the unborn baby.

How you can influence gender

Since modern science is not able to take into account all the "factors of gender balance", there is no natural way to plan and guarantee to get a child of the desired gender. But there are artificial ones. Let's go through the most popular ones.

How to conceive a girl or boy naturally

The most famous option is ovulation planning, or the Shettles method Choosing the Sex of Your Child. In the 1960s, this American doctor published the book How to Choose the Gender of a Child, which became an instant bestseller. In it, the author explains: "male" (Y) spermatozoa are smaller, lighter and faster than "female" (X). Therefore, couples wishing to conceive a boy should have sex during the period as close as possible to ovulation. Then the "male" sperm will get to the egg first.

According to Shettles, the Y chromosomes benefit when sperm is ejected as close to the opening of the cervix as possible. This is achievable in doggy style (man behind).

If the parents want to conceive a girl, the doctor recommends having sex in the missionary position and doing it 2-4 days before ovulation. In this case, only the more stable and heavy "female" spermatozoa will survive until the egg appears.

Alas, ovulation scheduling and other natural methods are highly unreliable.

Deciding Baby's Sex is criticized by other doctors. Estimates of its effectiveness vary. Some doctors say 96% success, while others claim that ovulation planning works only 39% of the time - and this result is even worse than regular sex with its 50/50 probability distribution.

How to conceive a boy or girl artificially

Sperm sorting

This method assumes that the sperm is "filtered" by screening out the lighter Y-sperm. They are then injected into a woman's egg using in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology.

The efficiency is quite high. According to some reports, triage is successful in more than 90% of cases if the couple hopes to conceive a girl, and more than 85% if it is a boy.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)

This is the most effective yet highly controversial method of floor planning. It consists of several stages. At the first stage, IVF is performed: several eggs are fertilized at once. At the second stage, with the help of genetic analysis, it is determined which of the embryos that have begun to develop have the "correct" sex. In the third stage, the selected embryos (one or more) are introduced into the uterine mucosa - this is how pregnancy begins.

PGD is justified if the unborn child has a high risk of hereditary diseases related to gender. But the use of this method solely to conceive a boy or girl is ethically controversial. Nevertheless, the reliability of PGD is 100%, and this cannot be taken away.