I often receive correspondence from couples who are trying to conceive a boy or a girl, but are concerned that their family history is getting in the way. For example, I sometimes hear of couples who want a daughter but find themselves in a situation where one of them comes from a family of only boys. Or, girls run in the family, but the couple wants a baby boy instead. People often worry that if one gender runs in their family, then they are destined to have the same one. I don’t buy these theories at all. I think it is entirely possible to influence and hopefully decide the gender of your baby. I’ll tell you why in the next article.
Why both the mother-to-be and the father-to-be influence the gender of their baby: Most people have heard that the sex of a baby is determined by the man or the father-to-be. And, this is mostly true, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Yes, which chromosome of the sperm ends up fertilizing the egg determines if you have a boy or a girl. Men contribute the X (girl) and Y (boy) sperm chromosomes. Females contribute only X’s. If you end up with an XY, then you get a baby boy. If you get an XX then you have a female baby. It is not possible to determine or control which chromosomes a man releases. However, he can have some control over how welcoming each of these sperm chromosomes makes their way to his reproductive tract as they make their way to the egg.
Do some men only produce sperm chromosomes that result in a certain gender? People often write to me asking if it is possible for their husband to only produce one of the sperm chromosomes. For example, I sometimes hear a woman who has only imagined children say something like “my husband should only produce Y or boy chromosomes or at least produce more of them.” Or I hear things like “the men in my husband’s family should only produce girls that produce sperm since they only have daughters.” These are very common perceptions, but clinical studies have indicated that this is unlikely to be true.
There is a recent Australian study that looked at the sperm of men who had previously produced three babies of the same sex. For example, the men in the study had had at least three girls or three boys. The scientists analyzed the semen to see if men fathering sons would have more Y or if men fathering girls had more X. The study noted that the only difference noted was a difference in semen volume. There was no large statistical difference in Y sperm in the men with many sons, nor did the men with many daughters have large statistical differences in the number of X sperm. In the end, the scientists concluded that a family history of sons or daughters cannot be explained by the proportion of X and Y sperm chromosomes in the father’s semen.
The ways in which women and their family history can influence the gender of the baby: Since we have seen the fathers, let us now also see the mothers. While the woman does not provide the X and Y sperm, she does provide the reproductive tract and this, in my opinion, can make a world of difference. It is said that a woman with an acidic reproductive tract is more likely to conceive a girl. The reason for this is that Y or boy sperm are compromised by an acidic environment but thrive in an alkaline one. So when women tell me that girls run in their family, I suspect they might be acid. When you tell me that your side of the family has children, then it stands to reason that women in the family tend to be alkaline.
You can easily test this theory with PH litmus strips. If it turns out that I’m right, you can change your AP. If there are boys in your family but you want a girl, then you will have to become more acidic. If there are women in your family but you want a son, you may need to become more alkaline. You can do this with the shower, with the diet, or with both. You can also adjust your time and the sexual positions you use. These are two other things that can also influence the gender of the baby when done correctly.