From the beginning of time, women have tried to influence the gender of their babies. This was especially important in cultures where boys were the favored offspring. Even today, in many countries this is still so and mothers-to-be continue to try to predetermine the sex of their baby.

Scientists have joined the baby sex prediction game. As a matter of fact studies from the 1980s to present have shown that certain types of diet seem more likely to produce boys or girls.

The wish to influence the sex of an unborn child is sometimes referred to as assisted sex selection.

Science and Gender Determination 

Last week a new study was released that looked at the link between diet and gender, showing that a balanced diet is more likely to result in boys. As stated before there is a link between your yet-to-be-conceived baby’s gender and your eating habits.

1. Increasing meat in your diet will more likely result in a boy.
2. Moms to be who skipped breakfast were more likely to give birth to girls. Women who had breakfast cereal conceived more boys than girls because of the greater amount of nutrients consumed.
3. Women who had fewer calories, proteins and minerals tended to have girls.

Ovulation Link

It is believed in some quarters that sperm that carry the male chromosome tend to be tiny, fragile and pretty fast. Female chromosome-carrying sperms on the other hand are believed to be slow, tough and large. Because of this it is believed that intercourse should take place once and as close to ovulation as possible to give sperm with male chromosome a head start to the unfertilized egg.

Sperm Spinning

Sperm spinning also called Percoll Density Gradient Centrifugation is used to separate female sperm (X) from male sperm (Y). The woman is artificially inseminated with the separated sperm at the time of ovulation depending on the couple’s preferred gender.

There are other scientific methods available to help determine a baby’s sex.

Old Wives’ Tales and Gender Determination

There are many old wives’ tales which suggest ways to preselect a baby’s sex before conception.

Boxers or briefs?

One old wives tale claims that men who wear tight underwear are more likely to conceive girls than boys. This is because the heat generated around the testes from briefs lowers sperm count and so lessens the chance of a boy.

Moon phase

It is widely held in some quarters that if intercourse is had during a quarter moon and the woman is ovulating, there is a greater chance of having a boy.

Chinese Birth Selection Chart

According to this ancient charting method, girls are more likely to be conceived if the mother-to-be is aged 21, 22 and 29 and the baby is conceived in April. If having a boy is the aim, then women aged 18, 20, 30 or 42 should try to conceive during the month of July.

None of the methods used for gender selection outlined in this article are 100 percent certain – so trying for a particular gender may not always work, even with the scientific approach.

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