There are a lot of parents that want to know what the sex of their baby is before it is born. This actually makes a lot of sense. By knowing if a couple will have a boy or a girl, it allows them to start getting items that they need once the baby is born.
What this means is that they can run out and find the right kind of crib, wallpaper, clothing, toys, and other accessories that can be quite gendered specific. This gives parents a lot of direction for what they want to do for their child.
It also gives friends and family direction as well. At the baby shower, friends will know what kinds of clothes and toys to get, and grandparents can’t wait to start getting items for the baby. Knowing the sex makes their job much easier as well.
Can I Influence the Sex of My Baby?
With this kind of idea in mind, there are some who believe that one can actually influence the sex of the baby. It isn’t a matter of knowing what the baby is once it is conceived, but is instead an idea that you can actually determine which sex the baby will be.
While this may seem a little crazy, a process developed by Dr. Landrum Shettles in the 1960s has become a popular method that many are using to help influence the conception. The Shettles Method, which was created by Shettles and David Rorvik, was brought to the culture of the world in 1971 when the two co-authored a book entitled How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby.
In the book, the two surmised that the male sperm, the Y-chromosome, was much faster than the female one, the X-chromosome, but that it is much more fragile that the female sperm. What they found was the acidic environments were more likely to harm the Y-sperm, making it more likely that a girl would be born.
The Shettles method then focused on how a mother can influence these two situations to make sure that the Y-sperm was more likely to reach and fertilize the egg. In the theory, if the insemination happened much closer to the time that the woman was ovulating, the faster Y-sperm would be the first ones to reach the egg, and thus conception would most likely result in a boy being conceived. For those who are seeking to have a girl, insemination should happen as least two days before ovulation. The much more fragile male sperm would not be able to handle the duration of time and would likely die off prior to that point.
They also proposed that the sex position could play a big part of conception. If the sperm was deposited much closer to the entrance of the vaginal area, then this favored the female sperm. This is because it is much more acidic near the entrance, which would weaken the male Y-sperm. To give the Y-sperm a clear advantage, the deeper penetration when the sperm was released would favor the much faster Y-sperm, and a boy was much more likely.
How Does the Shettles Method Work?
As has been explained to this point, there are certain factors that you are looking to appeal to. These include the depth of the penetration when the sperm is released and how close to ovulation, it is when the man releases sperm into the woman. There are some other factors that you want to pay attention to, and by using the Shettles method.
According to the theory behind this method, there are other things that you need to do if you wish to ensure that a boy is much more likely. This starts by not have sexual intercourse for three or four days prior to ovulation. Since the more fragile male sperm will likely be killed off by the time that ovulation occurs, what this means is that only the female sperm will still exist. Even if a fresh amount of sperm is given close to ovulation, the Y-sperm will be greatly outnumbered because of lingering X-sperm.
For those looking to have a girl, it is important to have intercourse days ahead of ovulation. This will greatly increase the chances of having a girl.
Shettles also proposed that women should not have an orgasm close to the time when they are ovulating if they want to have a girl. According to the theory, when a woman has an orgasm, this creates an alkaline environment inside the vaginal area. This makes it much conducive for the X-sperm to survive, and a boy is much more likely to be the result.
For those looking to have a boy, it is much more important to ensure that your wife or girlfriend is greatly aroused during sexual intercourse. You want her to have an orgasm so that the X-sperm will be more viable and able to reach the egg first for fertilization.
What Does the Research Say About the Shettles Method?
If one were to do a survey of women who have followed this method, there are going to be many who will say that they have had great success following the plan. There is actually a large amount of anecdotal evidence which supports the idea, but that is not necessarily researched. For this to be proven there has to be a lot more scientific approach taken, and there have been studies conducted to see if this works.
What many of these studies have concluded is that Shettles Method does not work at all and that there is no real success rate to it. In fact, in 1995, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report that concluded that “the timing of sexual intercourse in relation to ovulation has no bearing on the sex of the baby.” This was later confirmed in two other publications, the International Journal of Fertility and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which also came to the exact same conclusion.
It should be noted that Shettles conducted many tests on his own, many prior to his book being released and several after. His research found that the assertions he is making are true. He tested hundreds of women using the methods he proposes and found that his methods produced extremely positive results.
There has not been any independent research done that has supported the assertions of Shettles. This likely means that the idea may have come merit and may even work in some cases, but is not a full proof method to help parents determine what the sex of their baby will be. It sounds like a really great idea but does not hold up under close examination.
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