Many couples trying for a baby have a specific gender preference, driven by personal desires or cultural reasons. In some cultures, such as in India and China, there's a strong desire for multiple sons. While many leave the determination of a baby's gender to fate, others actively seek ways to influence or select the gender of their future child. This article explores various methods, including dietary adjustments like an alkaline diet, to potentially improve the chances of conceiving a baby boy.
Understanding Gender Determination
Biologically, a child's gender is determined by the combination of sex chromosomes inherited from the mother and father. A woman's egg contains an X chromosome, while a man's sperm contributes either an X or a Y chromosome. If the sperm carries an X chromosome, the child will be a girl (XX); if it carries a Y chromosome, the child will be a boy (XY).
Traditional and Astrological Methods
Throughout history, people have used various methods to predict or influence a baby's gender. These range from astrological considerations to specialized dietary intake and specific sexual positions.
One example is the Chinese Gender Calendar, an astrologically-based chart that cross-references the mother's age with the month of conception, purportedly providing an accurate means to influence gender outcome. Discovered in a dynastic royal tomb nearly 1,000 years ago, the gender calendar is one of the oldest methods for gender prediction.
Timing Intercourse: The Billings and Shettles Methods
The Billings Method involves monitoring a woman's vaginal mucus and tracking her ovulation cycle to determine the optimal day for intercourse to conceive a boy. Fertility charting or developing an ovulation calendar is required, so it helps to have a regular cycle.
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The Shettles Method is another popular technique based on the idea that male sperm cells are smaller and faster than female sperm cells. It recommends having intercourse close to the woman’s peak ovulation day to increase the likelihood of conceiving a baby boy. Deep penetration during intercourse and ejaculation deep in the vagina are also suggested in this method to assist the quicker male sperm in reaching the egg first. The method also recommends ensuring that the woman climaxes during intercourse to make the vaginal mucus more alkaline, further promoting the development and speed of male sperm cells.
Dietary Influence: The Alkaline Diet Theory
Some believe that diet can influence a baby's gender. While medieval home remedies suggested eating salt to produce male offspring, it’s essential to note that simply consuming salt is not recommended. More recent research suggests that diet, particularly the mineral component of certain diets, can have an impact.
The alkaline diet theory suggests that consuming an alkaline-based diet can create a favorable environment for male sperm to thrive, increasing the chances of having a boy. This involves:
- Increasing potassium and sodium intake.
- Reducing calcium consumption.
- Increasing intake of fresh fruits and vegetables
- Increasing intake of foods that contain potassium, such as bananas, salmon, avocados
- Increasing foods with high alkalinity, such as citrus fruits, root vegetables, nuts
- Avoiding dairy products
One study looked at the zona pellucida, the membrane surrounding the unfertilized egg. The study concluded that differential ratios of potassium to calcium/magnesium exert an effect on the make-up of the receptor sites or pellucid "locks" that traverse the surface of the egg. Hence, a preconception diet rich in calcium and magnesium (and low in sodium and potassium) will effectuate changes in the ovum receptor sites that tend to turn away Y sperm and attract X sperm, with a resultant female gender outcome. Conversely, a preconceptional diet rich in sodium and potassium but low in Cal/Mag would have the opposite effect, cultivating an receptor site attraction for Y sperm and a resultant male gender.
It's important to note that mainstream medicine suggests there’s no proven evidence for a special diet to conceive a boy - or, for that matter, to conceive a girl. According to the Mayo Clinic, “There’s not much the average couple can do to affect a baby’s sex.”
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Vaginal pH Levels
Other theories suggest that the pH acidity level in the vagina and cervix can affect the gender of your baby. X sperm (resulting in a baby girl), are more robust and slower than Y sperm (resulting in a baby boy), are more resilient to acidity in the vagina. X's may be slower, but they may also be able to withstand an acidic environment where pH levels "weed out" the male-chromosome sperm. Male or Y sperm are quick and speedy, but weaker, so if knocked out by unfavorable pH levels, the "girl sperm" will onstensibly make it to the egg. The pH level in the vagina may be altered, in theory, by a number of external or naturally-occurring variables. Healthy cervical mucus around the time of ovulation tends to establish a vaginal pH level that is conducive to general sperm survival. External factors like douching may also have some impact, if this theory is correct, as would products like Pre-Seed or FertileCM.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Sperm Spinning and Pre-Implant Genetic Testing
Elective IVF treatment for gender selection purposes, such as sperm spinning, can significantly improve the odds of conceiving a baby boy. In sperm spinning, a semen sample is collected from the man and placed on an albumin solution. The sperm cells are then sorted by gender, and if a boy is desired, the male cells are used to fertilize the woman’s eggs.
Pre-Implant Genetic Testing can also be used to determine the sex of the embryo before implantation.
Research Study in Tehran, Iran
One clinical experimental trial of convenient samples conducted as a retrospective study examined gender selection in Farhud’s Genetic Clinic in Tehran, Iran. In this study, 285 eligible women aged 25 to 44 years were monitored for nutrition and ovulation three months before trying to become pregnant. According to the study, using a combination of high sodium and potassium foods will increase the likelihood of having a male child, and foods with high calcium and magnesium will increase the likelihood of forming a female fetus. Overall, 88 women became pregnant in the first group among 179 participants in 2013, and follow-up showed that 82.95% achieved the wanted gender.
Exclusion criteria for the study included:
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1- Illiterate women who could not follow orders2- Men who had problems with spermogram disorder3- Women who had high blood pressure4- Women who had thyroid problems5- Women who had neurological problems.
Ethical and Societal Considerations
The desire to select a child's sex raises ethical and societal concerns. Some view it as a form of gender discrimination, particularly in societies with a strong preference for sons. In such societies, girls may face neglect, inadequate nutrition, and limited access to education and resources.
It is common to select the child’s sex and the tendency to have a son in many cultures. The requirement or benefit of physical strength, war, helping in agriculture tasks, continuing father’s profession, caring for the elderly, inheriting property, continuing their family name and talent can be the cultural basis to prefer the male child. The fate of gender selection affects the death of the daughter or newborn after birth directly, and also the preference of the child after birth will discriminate between boys and girls in terms of assigning the food, money, kindness, education, and other sources of wealth and prosperity . Lack of proper nutrition in pregnant women can increase fetal growth and low birth weight. Since infant mortality in the first 72 h of birth is the highest . The risk of death of a newborn girl is threatened in societies where there is a gender preference. Moreover, neglecting micronutrients can cause a variety of diseases in girl children . Unfortunately, ethnicity affects infant mortality .
In addition, reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF), you might have high-tech options such as sperm sorting and preimplantation genetic screening to improve your chances of having a boy. Sex selection done this way is much more common now than it was just a few years ago, when Chrissy Teigen and John Legend did it. However, this practice has a wide range of ethical, religious, legal, and social implications and is considered controversial. If you’re doing IVF and have this option, keep in mind that it’s not necessarily a purely medical decision.
Factors Affecting Sex Ratio
Several factors can influence the sex ratio at birth. Improper conditions increase the likelihood of giving birth to a girl. Other study reported that has been conducted during World War II on Austrian and German populations specified that the likelihood of having a female child was higher than a male child at that time. Psychological stress caused by severe and difficult events in life is possible to change the sex ratio by influencing the loss of sperm by transferring the y chromosome. A significant relationship between child’s sex and parents’ smoking and will increase the girl’s birth .
Fertilization season is a potential factor that can affect the sex ratio . Months of birth and sex ratio were different, and pregnant mothers were more expected to have girls in the summer and winter compared to the spring. Noorlander reported that Y sperm has a small head and moves at a higher speed compared to X sperm. The difference in sperm size is caused by the difference in their DNA content that male sperms have less DNA content compared to female sperms. Male sperm (y) is less resistant to environmental changes and is more vulnerable than larger sperm (X). When the male body is influenced by environmental stressors, such as heat and chemicals, x sperms indicate more resistance compared to y sperms. Men’s environmental contact with chemicals such as lead will disrupt the physical structure and reduce sperm motility and fertility in men. Air pollution influences sperm motility and reduces sperm motility, especially y chromosome-carrying sperms .