Sex Selection

Natural gender selection methods are non-invasive, safe ways to help control whether a woman conceives a baby boy or a baby girl. They are often used by couples who do not have a medical reason for wanting a baby of a particular gender. Natural gender selection methods do not carry the high success rate of medical procedures, but neither do they carry with it the moral dilemmas which one might also have with medical gender selection.

One down-side of natural gender selection is that quite a lot of these methods, such as with diet - have to be followed for a considerable amount of time in order to work. And of course, it's difficult to determine exactly whether these natural gender selection methods are what caused the birth of one particular gender of baby.

That said, if one has a houseful of girls - or their own personal football team of boys, for instance - and you want your next child to be a particular gender, natural gender selection is a fun thing to try.

There are several possible methods:

The Shettles Method - Timing Conception According to Ovulation for Natural Gender Selection Natural gender selection through timing is quite tricky as it relies on the woman knowing not only when her menstrual period is, but when she ovulates. Don't worry, though, because there are now over the counter kits available to determine ovulation time.

Male chromosome sperm are faster swimmers but don't live as long, so the closer that sex takes place to ovulation, the more likely it is that any baby conceived will be a boy. Female chromosome sperm are more robust and can survive for longer, so sexual intercourse that takes place later in a woman's ovulation cycle, the less male sperm is still around, so the greater the chances of conceiving a girl.

Natural Gender Selection Diet This method of natural gender selection relies on following a diet pre-conception and a few days after you think you've conceived - just because it's not always crystal clear when ovulation has actually taken place to fix the embryo's gender.

The natural gender selection diet works on the principle that the pH value of the woman's body (i.e. how acid or how alkaline it is) makes the vaginal secretions hospitable to one gender of sperm than another.

For a boy, you should eat a diet rich in potassium and sodium such as bananas and salted meats. For a girl, eat more calcium and magnesium, such as vegetables, eggs and dairy products: small wonder then that vegetarian women are more likely to have baby girls.

Sexual position Again, this natural gender selection technique relies upon the idea that male chromosome sperm and female chromosome sperm are fundamentally different and move differently.

To conceive a baby from faster-swimming male chromosome sperm, have sexual intercourse standing up; the slower female chromosome sperm won't stand much chance of getting to the egg to fertilize it first, fighting against gravity in this way. Missionary position sex is better for conceiving girls, depositing sperm close to the vaginal opening, where the pH value favors the more robust girl sperm.

Natural gender selection has of course been practiced for centuries. It's non-invasive and easy, except that a diet may have to be kept up for a little while. However, natural gender selection carries no guarantees and so may not be suitable for cases where there is a real medical need to give birth only to a specific gender of baby.