While having a healthy baby is certainly the most important priority on all parents list, it is also totally normal to yearn for a baby of one sex or the other. Whichever happens to be your choice, there are some ways; both scientific and otherwise, to manipulate Mother Nature and increase your odds to get pregnant with a boy or girl.
Here are some gender selection methods on how to have a boy:
The High Tech Way
If you are getting assistance from science to get pregnant in the first place, you could be able to have a hand in which gender you conceive. As promising and exciting as these high-tech boosts sound, you will have to remember that these methods of gender selection are a little costly, invasive, sometimes controversial, and may even require that you meet strict eligibility criterias.
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD): This method was developed to help couples who have gone through genetic testing and know they carry serious genetic disorders. The method is used in conjunction with in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Doctors extract a single cell from the rapidly dividing embryo that is fertilized in the petri dish and examine it to determine gender. Only embryos of the desired sex is then implanted in the mom’s uterus. While this method is effective, it is highly controversial and most fertility centers and medical organizations discourage it.
- Sperm sorting: This gender technique involves separating girl-producing sperm (X-sperm) from boy-producing sperm (Y-sperm) in the lab and then inserting the sperm of the desired gender into the mom’s uterus by intrauterine insemination (IUI) or using the Y-sperm to fertilize an egg in vitro.
The Low Tech Way
There are less-expensive to try gender selection. But as you might imagine, these methods are also a bit less effective, however there is definitely no harm in trying.
- The Shettles Method: This method boosts a 75% success rate. The main theory behind method of gender selection is that girl-producing sperm (X-sperm) move slower, are more resilient and live longer than male-producing sperm (Y-sperm), which are faster with shorter life spans. So In case where you want a boy, you should have sex as close as possible to ovulation — since the speedy Y-sperm will be more likely to get to the egg first.
- The Whelan Method: The Whelan Method of gender selection is the opposite of the Shettles Method. It is based on the idea that biochemical changes in a woman’s body at certain times in her cycle make it more likely that the Y-sperm will fertilize an egg, while other times in her cycle, her biochemistry will favor the X-sperm. So to conceive a boy, you should have sex four to six days before your ovulation.
- Gender-selection kits: There are also a variety of kits available that are based on altering the conditions around the egg and sperm—by using nutritional douches and supplements to make the vaginal tract more receptive to either the X- sperm or Y-sperm.
Gender Selection with the No Tech Way
These methods of gender selection are not science-based and come with absolutely no guarantee. Some of these theories focus on nutrition. For instance, for a boy child, some people suggest that you indulge in red meat, potassium, and salty foods. Other methods focus on sexual positions. It suggests making love standing up or doggy style, and to be sure to climax first.
