Historically, when asked what gender they prefer for their children, most Americans said they wished for a boy. Recently, however, that has begun to change.
Whatever your reason for wanting a daughter, you might find yourself wondering if there are ways you can increase your odds of conceiving a girl.
On the heavy science side, couples who are undergoing in vitro fertilization IVF may have the option to choose the gender of their child prior to implantation, through a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.
This method is sometimes used to screen for genetic diseases that may only affect male children such as hemophilia , but some fertility clinics will also allow for elective gender selection as well. Another science-heavy approach to getting a boy is sperm sorting also known as MicroSort. In this process, the father-to-be provides sperm, which then gets separated into X and Y chromosomes.
According to one published study, women who are vegetarians statistically had a significantly higher chance of having a female baby. Other food suggestions connected to conceiving girls include options that are high in calcium and magnesium, and those that are higher in acid, including soda and chocolate. Choosing the sex of your baby by embryo selection without a medical reason, even during IVF in-vitro fertilisation treatment, is banned in the UK.
Only in extenuating circumstances, such as a family history of a serious disease that could affect a child of a certain sex, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in boys, for example, can medical sex selection be carried out in the UK and Europe. In such cases, a method called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis PGD , which puts back only embryos of the required sex, is performed during the IVF process.
Clinics, including one in London, liaise with medical facilities in America to offer this treatment. Early consultations are carried out in this country, but owing to the UK ban, medical procedures are done in the US. Before couples were able to choose the sex of their babies by a process called sperm sorting. Fun facts for kids Non-chocolate advent calendars Royal news. Home Family. Sperm sorting, also known as the MicroSort Method, is done using flow cytometry, in which the girl-producing sperm X-sperm is separated from boy-producing sperm Y-sperm.
Girl-producing sperm contains about 3 percent more DNA than boys', and when stained with a special fluorescent material in the lab, appears to shine brighter. Sperm sorting is less reliable than gender selection with PDG, which is nearly percent accurate in selecting the desired sex. Though there is no medical data whatsoever to back up the efficacy of the so-called Shettles Method, some couples swear by it and others decide to give it a try.
The theory behind the Shettles Method is that girl-producing sperm called X-sperm move more slowly but are more resilient and live longer than male-producing sperm aka Y-sperm , which are faster but have shorter life spans. What that means, the story goes, is that couples can try having sex to conceive two to three days before the woman is scheduled to ovulate.
The thinking is that it might up the chances for the girl X-sperm to be the ones still waiting around in the fallopian tubes by the time the egg drops in a few days later. If you're trying for a boy, on the other hand, the theory is that having sex as close as possible to ovulation is the ticket, since the speedy boy Y-sperm could be more likely to reach the egg first. As long as you realize that your odds of the Shettles Method working are pretty much the same chance you have of getting pregnant with a baby girl or a baby boy, it certainly can't hurt to give it a whirl!
The Whelan Method of gender selection is based on similar theories as the Shettles Method, and it's equally short on medical evidence supporting its effectiveness. But if you go into it realizing there's absolutely no solid science behind it, there's no harm in trying it out. So if they're hoping for a boy, the theory says, couples can try to have sex four to six days before ovulation.
And to conceive a girl, they can hit the sheets either two to three days before ovulation or on the day the woman ovulates. That said, if you're the "ring gender test" type and understand the Whelan Method has about the same odds of determining whether you'll give birth to a boy or a girl, then by all means, have fun with it!
There are a variety of kits available that claim to improve baby sex selection odds. They're based on altering the conditions around the egg and sperm — by using nutritional supplements and douches — to make the vaginal tract more receptive to either the X- or Y-sperm.
There's no such thing as a diet that can boost your odds of conceiving a boy or girl, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating about it. Some theories say that eating foods low in sodium and high in calcium can increase your chances of having a girl. Others claim that your diet should include eggs, yogurt and chocolate if you want a girl and red meat, potassium-rich foods like bananas, and salty dishes if you want a boy.
Theories abound about whether certain sex positions can help you conceive a boy or girl — but as you can imagine, there's no evidence showing that, say, having sex standing up can help you have a boy, or missionary position makes you more likely to have a girl.
Same goes for the theories about who has an orgasm first.
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