Techniques for Conceiving Baby Boys

Many couples who are trying to conceive may wonder about techniques for conceiving baby boys. Although some people feel it's not right to have a preference, the inclination for a boy just hits home for some hopeful parents.

Some couples try almost anything to conceive a boy.

For some parents, a boy simply feels right for their family. Maybe they already have a boy and they'd prefer to stay with the same gender. Maybe they have a family tradition of passing along a name from father to son. Or, maybe they just like the idea of playing football in the yard and watching a son grow into a man.

In some countries, the need for a son is based on politics and money. China, for example, has a strict one child rule in most parts of the country. Many couples are hoping for a boy since men are better able to support children and their own aging parents. This has, unfortunately, made female babies somewhat of a social stigma. Many females are dropped off at orphanages so their biological parents can try again for a boy. The girl remains at the orphanage until she ages out or is adopted.

Rural areas, both in China and elsewhere, are also more likely to hang their hopes on a boy so he can help tend the land and take it over later.

For whatever your reason, having a preference is fine, as long as you are also okay with the possibility of having a girl. There are many techniques for conceiving baby boys, but none of them can guarantee that you'll have a son.

The exact process of how a boy is made is easy to understand. Each time a couple has intercourse, millions of sperm enter the race to be the first to meet up with the egg. Since the egg has no gender, it's the sperm's job to combine either a Y or X chromosome with egg's X chromosome to produce a boy (XY) or a girl (XX). But how do you even begin to figure how to get the male sperm there first?

Fortunately, there is no shortage of popular legends about how to conceive a boy:

• Both partners should bulk up on red meat and soda during the time leading up to conception.
• Have sex only odd-numbered days of the month.
• Keep sex for the nighttime. Daytime trysts will produce a girl.
• Have lots of sex and keep trying.

For every woman who will give you advice like this that worked for them, you can probably find another one who did the same thing and had a girl. But, there are a few scientific based ideas that you can also try.

Male sperm, that which carries the Y chromosome, travels toward the egg faster than the female sperm. But, they don't have the longevity of the female sperm, so the trick is to get the male sperm to the egg quickly. With this in mind, the Shettles Method was developed as a way to time intercourse so it produces the preferred sex. Dr. Shettles technique for conceiving baby boys is simple enough to follow: have sex right when ovulation occurs or even right after. This allows the male sperm to speed its way to the egg, while the slower female sperm is just getting started.

But, to muddy the waters, the Whelan method suggests having intercourse several days before ovulation if you want a boy. Which way is right? The few scientific tests don't seem to put either method very far ahead of the either.

Then there's the Chinese Lunar Pregnancy Calendar, which predicts gender based on the mother's lunar age at conception and the month the baby is conceived in. There's no science behind this one, just an ancient Chinese document that lists when you should try to conceive. Plenty of women insist that this is accurate, but just as many have gotten incorrect predictions.

If you absolutely need to have a boy, going through in vitro fertilization is your best chance at choosing your child's gender. After the fertilization occurs, physicians can determine the sex of the embryo even before it's implanted. So if you want a boy, have the doctor only implant the male embryos. This is by far the most effective means, but it’s costly, invasive, and is a difficult way to conceive.

Aside from the IVF, most of these techniques are easy and safe enough to try. Just remember that you really only have a 50/50 chance of conceiving the gender that you hope for.

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• Shettles Method