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Boy or Girl?

Boy or Girl Can you help nature?

If nature is left to her own devices around 105 boys will be born for every 100 girls. But what if you are hoping for a boy or are particularly desperate for a girl. Can you improve on nature's odds?

Sex of gender selection has always been a hot topic. While it is possible for scientists and doctors to identify sperm and select sperm to create a child of a particular sex, this is only done under the strictest controls and for medical reasons. For example, doctors will help couples to have a girl if they know that otherwise a boy would develop a life-threatening condition such as muscular dystrophy.

For couples hoping to have a child of a particular sex, there are some ways in which you can improve on nature's odds, although you may still not beat nature.

A good starting point is to understand that a child's sex is the result of two chromosomes. One chromosome comes from each parent.

A boy needs an X chromosome and a Y chromosome

and

A girl needs two separate X chromosomes

Women's eggs automatically provide an X chromosome and so the lottery of sex selection revolves around a man's sperm. Half of a man's sperm will be carrying the Y chromosome and the other half the X chromosome. Sex selection therefore depends on which type of sperm fertilises the egg. A Y sperm that fertilises the egg will produce a boy (XY) while an X sperm will produce a girl (XX).

Scientists have noticed that there are differences between X sperm and Y sperm and tips to conceive a particular sex of children are based around these differences. Y sperm are faster, but tire more easily. They prefer alkaline conditions which are found higher in the vagina and are also created when a woman has an orgasm. X sperm are heavier and slightly slower swimmers, although they have greater stamina.

Tips to Conceive a Girl

Have frequent intercourse after menstruation to reduce the numbers of male sperm.
Stop two or three days before ovulation.
Do not have sex for a week after ovulation.

Tips to Conceive a Boy