If you've found this article, you probably know at least a little bit about Dr. Shettle's methods of choosing the sex / gender of your baby and are wanting to know it really works before you go through all the trouble of following it. This article will briefly go over how and why the shettles method works. It will also discuss where it is a bit flawed (and leaves too much room for error) and provides tips on how you can overcome these shortcomings.

Shettles' Theory Explained In A Nutshell:No one can deny that there are two types of sperm: X (which comes from the mother) and Y (which comes from the father.) If the X sperm reaches and fertilizes the egg first, the couple will have a girl baby. If the Y sperm gets to and fertilizes the egg first, then the couple would conceive a baby boy.

The basis of Shettles' theory is that the X and Y sperm have inherent differences. The girl sperm (X) are said to be slower, but much stronger, and able to survive in a hostile vaginal environment for up to four days without weakening and dying off. The boy (Y) sperm on the other hand are said to be very fast moving, but to balance out nature, they are also much weaker – dying off pretty rapidly in the vaginal tract.

With a bit of planning and calculation though, you can use these characteristics to your advantage. Below, I will discuss how and will also explain where there is room for error and what you can do to avoid the common mistakes which will effect your results.

Know When You Ovulate And Time Conception Based On Which Gender You Want:We now know that the girl sperm are very long lasting and that the boy sperm die off quickly. So, if you want a baby girl, you need to conceive well before you ovulate (optimally 3 days before) and then you need to stop trying. Doing so will allow the boy sperm time to die off before the egg is ready to be fertilized.

If you want a boy, you should have intercourse on the day of or after ovulation (and no earlier.) This will allow the boy sperm to be viable and present as the egg is released.

Obviously, knowing exactly when you ovulate is of the greatest importance. If you are off, even slightly, all of your work and planning could be for nothing. Some of the methods used to predict ovulation are basal temperature and cervical mucus readings – and therein lies the problem. These methods leave way too much room for error and many women (myself included) have trouble interpreting the results.

I had much higher success using ovulation predictor kits, but had trouble with urine models. I just was not getting a positive results. A friend of mine gave me a saliva predictor and it made all of the difference. You can see even small changes and this gives you a heads up that ovulation is approaching. They are reusable and inexpensive.(Turns out, I was ovulating very late in my cycle and not on the typical day 14 as I thought. Once I knew this, I was able to adjust.)

Use Intercourse Positions That Will Favor Having The Son Or Daughter You Want:If you want a boy, you will obviously want to give this vulnerable and weaker sperm the shortest trip to the egg as is possible. To do this, you should use sexual positions that place the sperm as close to the egg / cervix as you can manage. For most, this is deep penetration.

If you are trying for a girl, you should use shallow penetration, as this will give the boy sperm a longer, more strenuous trip (and the girl sperm will have no problem with this.) Of all of the shettles activities, this one is the easiest to achieve with the least room for error.

Alter PH And Acidity Depending On Whether You Want A Boy Or A Girl:So, hopefully by now we know that the girl sperm thrive just fine in a highly acidic (hostile) environment, while the boy sperm really struggle.

So, if you want a daughter, you should create the highest, most acidic PH that you can manage. If you want a boy, you'll need to be proactive to bring your PH down (usually pretty significantly as many women are naturally a bit acidic.)

The problem here is that most women have no idea where they fall on this scale. So, they are kind of flying in the dark or shooting blind. But, you can easily find out where you are by using PH testing strips that you can get in online or at a health food store. Once you know where you fall on the acidity scale, you can then make the necessary changes and complete the necessary action to get where you need to go.

You can change your acidity by following a specific diet and consuming and avoiding certain foods (again depending on which gender you are going for.) You can also douche with specific solutions depending on where your reading was. (Using both methods is the fastest way to do this, but you can do it through food only if you are opposed to douching.)

And, you can monitor your results (and see how much further you have to go) by continuing to test with the strips until you reach your ideal level.

So, What's The Verdict?:So, does shettles work or not? I believe that it does. It did for me and for many people that I know. However, there is a lot of room for error. Luckily, there are tools and methods that allow you to gauge what you need to do (and how well you are doing it) correctly. If you can maximize your efforts every step of the way, then I believe that this tactic does greatly increase your chances of having the gender that you want.

I've put together a couple of sites which I hope will take the guess work out of naturally choosing your baby's sex via the shettles method. I've provided step by step instructions and links to resources for the food lists, douche recipes, and PH testing strips mentioned in this article.

If you want to conceive a baby girl, please visit /

If you want to conceive boy, check out /