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Motherhood is a bliss that fills your life with so much color and fun. When you dream about becoming a parent, all you want is a happy and healthy child. But somewhere, in your imagination, while playing, cuddling or dressing a baby, you can’t help if a certain blue jersey or a baby pink pinafore flashes before you.
There is no concrete scientific evidence of any fool-proof method of conceiving a baby belonging to a specific gender, but there are studies and researches which are looking into the possibilities of making it happen.
One such method that is widely popular and claims substantial success in choosing a gender for your child is the Shettles Method, propounded by Dr. Landrum Shettles [1].
In case you desire a baby girl, you could try following his method that is based on the principle that if the short-lived, faster moving, male bearing Y chromosomes are slowed down and the strong and durable female-bearing X chromosomes are given favor to fertilize the ovum, there are chances of X chromosomes dominating the sex of the fertilized egg. This is possible in two ways:
Timing
Because the Y-chromosomes travel fast, one should avoid having intercourse too near to the period of ovulation. Rather one should track the correct time and day of ovulation and have intercourse about two to three days before that [2]. The more fragile Y-chromosomes in the sperm might not survive that long and give way to the durable X-chromosomes to fertilize the egg.
Position during intercourse
Also, if the penetration isn’t too deep into the vagina, most sperms will be deposited near the vaginal opening and that space being more acidic, will inhibit most of the weaker Y-chromosomes. Again, the durable X-chromosomes, which can last about five days can then swim across to reach the ovum and fertilize it.
Now the question is, how do we achieve shallow penetration? Well, it’s easy. Try these following positions to optimize your chances of shallow penetration.
Missionary position
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This age-old, traditional position is good enough to try for a girl. Lying down on the back with the legs relaxed on the bed will result in most sperms to remain at the vaginal opening. Remaining that way for some time after ejaculation will give less opportunity for the weak male sperms to move upwards whereas the chances of female sperms to make it to the ovum will increase.
Spoon position
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You could try the spoon position, wherein you lie down sideways with the legs joined and the knees bending. In this position of cuddle and embrace, as your partner enters from the behind, there isn’t much opening for deeper penetration. This can again lead to shallow positioning, with the sperms depositing close to the vaginal opening.
Straddling technique
Also popular as ‘girl on top’ technique, it gives you control of the extent of penetration. While you take on the lead, you can make sure that your partner is not too deep inside you and in this way, you can also control the extent of seminal fluid that goes inside you. Only the longer-lasting girl chromosomes will survive to make their way to the top.
Control your orgasm
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This might be the biggest turn-off of the Shettles method. It says that when a woman reaches her orgasm, it makes the vaginal area more alkaline, and favorable for the sperms. This can encourage the male chromosomes to travel faster. To discourage this, you are required NOT to have an orgasm, so that the vaginal opening remains acidic and the female chromosomes stand a better chance to survive.
You cannot be 100% sure that this method will guarantee a girl child, but there is no harm in trying the positions above and test for yourself!
