Is it possible to predict the gender of the baby?

At the moment of conception, whether a boy or a girl will be born is determined by the pair of X and Y chromosomes : in a woman it is the XX pair, in a man - XY. Egg cells have an X chromosome, and sperm have an X or Y chromosome. The sex of the child depends on which sperm enters the egg. However, there are ways to influence the baby's gender . Therefore, if a couple trying to get pregnant care about a specific gender, they have two methods at their disposal , the effectiveness of which is clinically confirmed : sperm segregation in terms of chromosomes and in vitro fertilization along with genetic diagnosis, which takes place before implementation. The effectiveness of other methods has not been clinically proven, but we will also devote a moment to them in this text.

How can sperm sorting help predict the baby's gender?

The Microsort method , i.e. the one in which sperm are sorted, uses a special device that analyzes the sperm and divides the sperm into lighter (Y) and heavier (X) ones according to the difference in DNA mass. A selected group of sperm is placed in an egg cell. The effectiveness of the method is 93% for girls and 82% for boys ¹ . However, it is not available in Poland for now. Its price is several thousand dollars.

Does in vitro fertilization allow you to predict the gender of your child?

The in vitro method can provide 100% certainty of the future child's gender . An embryo is formed outside the woman's body when egg cells and sperm combine. After three days, when the embryo is at the eight-cell stage, its chromosomal profile is analyzed and only those embryos that have the sex chosen by the parents can be implanted . However, the in vitro procedure is expensive - its cost can be up to several thousand zlotys.

Are there natural methods that help predict the gender of the baby?

A free and quite popular method is the one authored by a biologist from the USA, Landrum B. Shettles. The Shettles method was created in the 1960s and is based on the assumption that sperm differ in terms of structure and speed of movement. Sperm with the Y chromosome are faster than those with the X mark, but the latter stay longer in the woman's reproductive tract. Shettles determined that a couple who would like to conceive a female child should have sex a few days before ovulation , because then only sperm with the X chromosome will remain in the woman's body. And the woman who dreams of a boy should have intercourse closer to ovulation.

Here, excellent knowledge of the menstrual cycle is crucial . This method also takes into account the sexual position and the pH in the woman's vagina. Shettles described the method in the book "How to choose the sex of your baby" ² . He discussed all these factors, giving recipes for conceiving a child of a specific gender. According to the author, the optimal position to conceive a boy is one in which there is deep penetration from behind, and a missionary position for a girl.

There is no shortage of enthusiasts of this method on the Internet. Shettles himself claimed that the method is 75% effective, but scientific research refutes the credibility of his theory ^3.4 .

Does diet help predict the baby's gender?

Scientists from the University of Pretoria in South Africa looked at the issue of the role of diet in planning a child's gender by looking at mice. It turned out that animals whose glucose levels dropped before fertilization were less likely to give birth to males, and females whose glucose levels did not drop were more likely to give birth to female offspring. ⁵ . If the conclusions from research on animals turn out to be true also in the case of humans, then women who dream of a son should enrich their diet with products containing potassium and sodium, such as salty meats and meats, fish, tomatoes, potatoes, tea, coffee, white bread or pasta. Women who want to give birth to a daughter are recommended milk, figs, almonds, honey and nuts. However, this method has not yet undergone solid scientific research on humans that would help verify its effectiveness.

Bibliography:

1. Karabinus DS, Marazzo DP, Stern HJ, Potter DA, Opanga CI, Cole ML, Johnson LA, Schulman JD. The effectiveness of flow cytometric sorting of human sperm (MicroSort®) for influencing a child's sex. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2014 Nov 24;12:106.
2. Landrum B. Shettles, “How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby: Fully revised and updated Paperback” – October 10, 2006, Harmony Publ.
3. Gray R.H. Natural family planning and sex selection: fact or fiction? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1991 Dec;165(6 Pt 2):1982-4.
4. Hossain AM, Barik S, Kulkarni PM. Lack of significant morphological differences between human X and Y spermatozoa and their precursor cells (spermatids) exposed to different prehybridization treatments. J Androl. 2001 Jan-Feb;22(1):119-23.
5. Roxanne Khamsi, Diet may influence the sex of your baby, November 28, 2007, newscientist.com.