Planning Your Baby's Sex

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Old Fashioned Ways to Family Plan the Details

"...And we shall raise a family.....A Boy for you... a Girl for me."  The dreams that many couples dream as they plan their families, may include hopes and preferrences of how many kids, what sex and how far apart.  Many couples embark upon the joys of parenthood unwilling to wait through a full term pregnancy not knowing their baby's sex. Thanks to the technology and the sonographers, the ability to predict is fairly accurate these days.  Just as you can see the dimple in her little chubby little cheek-just like mama's- so too his little ding a ling is usually ringing out there, clear as a bell.  While there’s a 50/50 chance to get either or boy or girl; some couples still elect to wait and be surprised.  But modern science isn't all that new.  Some old fashioned moms and dads actually found ways to influence and fertilize that little egg with just the right injection of boy making or girl making sperm!  How did they do it?

Planning Your Baby’s Sex, the Old Fashion Way

Whether you’ve had three kids already or if it’s your first, the anticipation of the baby’s sex is inevitable. From the moment a couple receives the news of a new arrival the unborn child is referred to by its preferred sex, i.e. He or She. We just don't like to think in terms of "It".  From that moment forward and throughout the pregnancy couples have tried all sorts of folk methods to predict their baby’s sex. One method requires that the woman's wedding band be made into a pendulum, the rotation of the “Wedding Band pendulum is  observed as it is held over the mother's womb. If it swings in a circle it’s a girl and if it swings in a straight line back and forward or side to side it’s a boy.

Old fashioned wives tales and folklore predictions such as this one were intended to predict sex of a child already conceived; countless others activities were intended to influence the child's sex before or at conception. In many cases the science may have been there though it was often a little far fetched.  In fact, however, some wives tales are commonly endorsed by medicine as methods to influence the conception of a boy or girl. Some non-traditional or ancient methods were used when pharaohs wanted sons to carry on their royal blood line.  They would contact ancient healers who devised remedies to influence the baby’s sex.  From astrology and birth charts to the eating of various foods and utilizing specific sexual positions, parents have attempted to tempt fate.

There are even some truly outlandish and sometimes comedic family planning methods couples have used to determine their baby’s sex. Take the full moon method as an example.  According to the folklore, the best time to conceive a boy is during a full moon and one day after. This time of month was chosen because of the strong gravitational pull on the earth and a belief that that might aid the male sperm in reaching the ovum faster. With or without research behind it, this method "worked" for a certain number of couples.

Some couples feel that they are willing to "try" anything in their desperation to control the sex of the conceived child.  Think about the couple with five boys wanting a girl or visa versa.  The couples’ desperation can lead them to go to great lengths. One of the most popular methods is adhering to certain sexual positions to influence conception of a male or female child.   But wait, this one has science behind it!

It seems, certain sexual positions allow for a deeper penetration and are widely recommended for producing a boy while it is said that more shallow penetration produces girls. Medical findings concluded that the Y sperm that carries the male gene is stronger however slower with a short life span, therefore deeper penetrations allow more Y sperm to reach the ovum more quickly, before they die, hence increasing the chances of a boy. On the other hand missionary positions are for conceiving a girl since the faster X sperm is able to reach the ovum first.  (Girl sperm are faster.  Get that!)

An even more astounding old fashion way of planning your baby’s sex that is also supported by medical evidence is based upon the type of underwear the man wears. While medical evidence supports the fact that loose underwear like boxers as opposed to briefs not only increase male sperm count but also contribute to the sex of the baby being male. Another bit of folklore holds that the cooler the sperm the greater chance the Y sperm will survive long enough to reach the ovum while warmer conditions kill more Y sperm leaving the X sperm to produce girl babies.  Again, girl producing sperm are considered to be more durable and viable.

For couples who are trying to find the most economical method to plan the sex of a baby advice abounds on the internet.  And the ancient methods are still being employed by some, including the Chinese prediction chart which compares the mother's and father’s birthdates and thereby predicts the ideal time to conceive a boy or girl.  Then there is the the farmer’s almanac method, which uses the seasons and times of the month to plan your baby’s sex.   Well it can't hurt to try!  Science or not.[source]

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