Intercourse timing & gender selection - any truth to it?

[Anonymous]

OK- totally unscientific, but I'm just wondering based on people's experiences if there is any truth to the notion that if you have sex close to or on your ovulation day you are more likely to conceive a boy and vice-versa. I guess its called the Shettle's theory? I've also heard that one shot deals are more likey to produce boys than having lots of sex...

[Anonymous]

Yes and no, but it's hard to prove.

X chromo. sperm move slower, but last longer (slowly but surely).
Y chromo. sperm move faster, but die out faster.

So, if you conceive a few days before "true" ovulation then most likely you'll have a girl b/c the X chromo. sperm will "outlast" the Y sperm and make it to the egg.

At "true" ovulation, the egg is in prime position so the speedy Y sperm will beat out the slow X sperm.

Many baby doctors use this theory to "customize" your baby. I also understand that X sperm weigh less so baby doctors can also "filter" out the preferred sperm to get you the preferred sex.

[Anonymous]

We tried for two months to get a girl, but gave up because we decided it was more important to us to just get the show on the road and get our family started. We used the bunny rabbit method and ended up getting preggo the next month. Its a boy, but we don't really care now-- we are just so excited to be parents and like to think that our little boy chose us. I think in trying to "time" for a girl, we may have been missing my ovulation completely, but who really knows? There was a study in the New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago that largely disproved the Shettles timing method. You can probably find it by googling. Some people still swear by it though.

For what its worth, I have since heard that a more important factor may be the acidic/alkeline(?) level of your vagina. Some women may just be more receptive to the X or Y sperm, which is why some women may have seven kids of all one gender (which statistically should be very rare). If that's true, then maybe timing doesn't matter at all.

[Anonymous]

It's not "unscientific". To the contrary, the Shettle's method is VERY scientific, and indeed well accepted among the medical community. (Anecdotally, I know 4 women who have tried it, and they've all gotten what they wanted). But even Dr. Shettles acknowledges that his method is increasing your odds... its not a 100% guarantee. I think he claims that its 80-90% effective when going for a boy, and 70-80% effective when going for a girl.

If you're interested, you should definitely get his book "How to choose the sex of your baby". He goes through all the science, and the techniques. Bottom line, if you want to have a girl, you need to try to have sex 2-3 days prior to ovulations (that's tricky, because you have to be able to accurately predict when you'll ovulate). When you have sex on the same day (or even later) as ovulation, you're more likely to have a boy.

And yes, the research suggests that boy sperm swim faster and die sooner. Girl sperm swim slower and last longer. But these are generalizations. He also discusses the role of akalinity.

[Anonymous]

we weren't actively trying shettles, but we did time our intercourse more appropriately for a boy ... we did it 4,3,2 & 1 day before ovulation. not on ovulation day. and it's a BOY!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we weren't actively trying shettles, but we did time our intercourse more appropriately for a boy ... we did it 4,3,2 & 1 day before ovulation. not on ovulation day. and it's a BOY!!

If you had sex 4, 3, 2, and 1 day before ovulation, you are mostly in the "girl" range. Shettles mostly doesn't recommend having sex 1 day prior to ovulation, because its "too close to call" (could be a boy or girl). So its most likely you conceived after sex the day before ovulation... and got a boy. Had you conceived earlier, the chances would've been much higher for a GIRL.

Just wanted to clarify that... because people TRYING for a boy should NOT be having sex when you did. They should be having sex on the day of ovulation, or even the day after.

[Anonymous]

We wanted a boy-we had sex the day before ovulation, possibly 12 hours before, and had a boy. When we had sex 2 days before ovulation, it was a girl, although I m/c that pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

check this thread, they talk about this same thing

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/27678.page

[Anonymous]

Here's the citation for the New England Journal of Medicine article that disproved the Shettles "timing" method.

Wilcox, A J; C R Weinberg, D D Baird (1995-12-07). "Timing of sexual intercourse in relation to ovulation. Effects on the probability of conception, survival of the pregnancy, and sex of the baby". The New England journal of medicine 333 (23): 1517–21.

[Anonymous]

It seems like the more that couples want a girl, they get a boy. They keep trying for the boy and continue to get girls.

Relax and maybe you get what you want.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone looked into ZDL, Inc. for Gender Selection?

[Anonymous]

'I've also heard that one shot deals are more likey to produce boys than having lots of sex... "

LOL! You've made my day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we weren't actively trying shettles, but we did time our intercourse more appropriately for a boy ... we did it 4,3,2 & 1 day before ovulation. not on ovulation day. and it's a BOY!!

How can you attribute having a boy to this method? There's always a 50/50 chance no matter what.