Developed by Dr. Landrum B. Shettles, The Shettles Method for conceiving a girl is a collection of techniques designed to help influence baby gender prior to conception.
Dr. Shettles was known as a pioneer in fertility treatments and based his methods around the theory that the characteristics of X-bearing and Y-bearing sperm differ and can be used to influence the sex of your baby.
Chromosome math: The egg from the mother is always X-bearing and the sperm from the father can be either X-bearing or Y-bearing. X + Y = boy and X + X = girl.
According to his theory, girl producing X-bearing sperm are slower but hardier than boy producing Y-bearing sperm and more able to survive in acidic environments. Shettles methods help you conceive a girl by exploiting these differences in 3 areas: The timing of sexual intercourse; use of specific sexual positions; and controlling the female orgasm.
Conceiving A Girl
To increase the chances of conceiving a girl you should have sex frequently up to about 3 days (give or take a day) prior to ovulation and then abstain from sex until several days afterwards. This will result in relatively more of the shorter lived Y-bearing sperm perishing before the egg becomes accessible after ovulation. Being able to accurately time ovulation is an important factor in conceiving a girl. Having sex too close to ovulation will increase the probability you conceive a boy. Having sex too early will reduce your chances of getting pregnant at all.
Sexual positions that provide for shallow penetration and ejaculation further from the cervical opening, such as the missionary position, will favor conceiving a girl. This area is more acidic and also requires more time for the sperm to traverse the vagina and reach the egg. Both of these factors favor the longer lived and hardier X-bearing sperm.
To maximize the chances of conceiving a girl Dr. Shettles suggests that women should attempt to abstain from orgasms during sex as this keeps the vagina more acidic and less favorable for Y-bearing sperm. It also reduces that amount of cervical fluid making it harder for the sperm to traverse the vagina. While having to refrain from orgasms during sex can seem a little disappointing, it is a small sacrifice to make to increase the chances you have a baby girl.
Using the Shettles Method many couples report having been successful in their desire for conceiving a girl but the evidence is mostly anecdotal and does not conclusively prove the effectiveness of the method.
While some questions remain, success is hard to dispute. Dr. Shettles pioneering work clearly influenced the effective, step-by-step, baby gender selection programs focused on how to conceive a girl available today.
While scientists often label the Shettles Method inconclusive, many happy parents do not.
