It's true that as a mom, all you want is for your baby to be healthy - but have you ever wondered how to conceive a baby girl naturally?
A quick Google search or a chat with your mom and aunties will reveal plenty of old wives' tales about how to conceive a baby girl naturally.
From what you eat to the time of month you conceive, it seems there are lots of tricks to help you on the gender front.
But is there a science to how to conceive a baby girl naturally, or is it really just luck?
How to conceive a baby girl naturally
There's no medical evidence to back any of this up, but here goes:
- Diet: Stock up on green leafy veggies and a gallon of milk, because some data suggests that a diet high in magnesium and calcium may increase your odds of conceiving a girl. And even if you don't conceive a girl, these healthy foods are a great choice when you are trying to get pregnant.
- Acidic foods: There’s plenty of anecdotal stories of eating acidic foods and avoiding foods that produce alkaline to change the pH in a woman’s body to be more favorable to conceiving a girl. Think lemons, plums, grapefruit and blueberries and avoid bananas, potatoes and watermelon.
- Vitamins: It’s important to start taking prenatal vitamins that contain at least 400 mcg of folic acid when you are trying to conceive, but can other vitamins help you have a girl? The study that looked at diet also had participants take magnesium, calcium and Vitamin D supplements in addition to their prenatal vitamins.
- Timing: If you follow the Chinese Conception Calendar system, the month you conceive could predict your baby’s sex. The tradition of using the calendar goes back some 700 years and many families swear by it!
- Fertile days for a baby girl: There are three popular methods for finding a woman’s most fertile days to conceive a baby girl.
- The Shettles Method: Developed in the 1960 by Dr Landrum B. Shettles, this theory is all about the timing. It's based on the notion that female-producing sperm (X-sperm) are slower swimmers than male-producing sperm (Y-sperm). However, the female-producing sperm are stronger and live longer. The Shettles Method recommends having sex two to four days before ovulation. When the egg drops, the X-sperm will be there to fertilize the egg. According to Shettles, the success rate of conceiving a girl with this method is 75%.
- The Whelan Method: Developed by Elizabeth Whelan, this method revolves around the times when a woman’s body is more favorable to either the X-sperm or the Y-sperm based on her menstrual cycle. For a girl, a couple should have sex two or three days before ovulation or on the day of ovulation to increase their odds of having a girl. According to Whelan, the success rate of having a girl with this method is 57%.
- The Babydust Method: This method was created by Kathryn Taylor and focuses on the timing and frequency of sex to increase the likelihood of having a girl. For this method, a woman should track her luteinizing hormone (LH) twice a day for three months. This is done once in the morning and once in the evening and can be done with ovulation predictor kits. According to Taylor, during these three months, a woman will learn more about her cycle and will be able to determine when she ovulates. After the three months of tracking, couples are encouraged to have sex once two or three days before ovulation so that the male-producing sperm are no longer viable and the female-producing sperm are ready to fertilize the egg during ovulation.
Disclaimer: The research is inconclusive for all three methods but since most doctors recommend having sex every day or every other day around the time of ovulation to get pregnant, following these methods may actually take you longer to conceive.
Medical advice
The most important thing if you're trying to conceive is that you have a healthy baby regardless of its sex.
But if you choose to try any of the above methods, make sure you talk to your doctor first.