Hoping for a boy? Light the candles, draw a warm bath and send the kids to the neighbour’s house.
It’s time to chill out and think happy thoughts.
According to a new study, the secret to conceiving a boy lies in reducing stress levels when trying to conceive. A less-stressed woman is more likely to produce a boy and a more-stressed woman is more likely to conceive a girl because boys are more vulnerable to stress when in the womb.
So stay chill, and you could be blessed with a boy in a few months’ time.
Stress as a gender selector
Sounds a little strange, right? I mean, how can stress determine whether you are having a boy or a girl? However, the study has some pretty convincing results:
- Women who had higher blood pressure and other signs of physical stress had four boys for every nine girls (ratio 4:9)
- Women who were psychologically stressed had two boys for every 3 girls (ratio 2:3).
All of the women had healthy pregnancies.
“The womb is an influential first home,” said lead author Catherine Monk, director of women’s mental health in OB/GYN at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “We do know that males are more vulnerable in utero, and presumably the stress in these women is of a long-standing nature,” Monk said.
The study also discovered that the more social support a mother received while trying to conceive, the greater the chance she had of having a male baby.
Other factors that impact your chances of conceiving a boy
There are heaps of different theories on how to conceive a certain gender. If you’re aching for a boy, you could try:
Less sex, especially spontaneous sex – Boy sperm are believed to swim faster than girl sperm but boys die off quicker than girls do. If you want your partner’s Olympic sprint boy swimmers to get to your egg before the marathon girls catch up, you need to cool that libido down.
Sex close to ovulation – Following the Shettles method (dates back to the 1960s) you ideally need to have sex as close to ovulation as you can. That’s 24 hrs before or up to 12 hours after you ovulate.
Doggy style –Â To give the male sperm a decent shot at the prize you can help them out a bit. Doggy style allows your man to go deeper and deep penetration can lead to a boy.
Caveman food – Male sperm like an alkaline environment so dig into the salty, starchy stuff. Fill up on steak, beans, plenty of leafy green veg and lots of orange stuff – pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
No dairy – Step away from the ice-cream. Instead, opt for potassium-rich foods like bananas, spinach and Brussel sprouts.
Go commando (or cotton boxers) – Male sperm like cool environments. To reduce the heat in your partner’s nether regions, get him in some loose, cotton boxers. Boxers allow him to hang free and easy and, as they aren’t as restrictive as jocks, he’ll be a bit cooler down where it matters.
Cool off – Your partner may want to have a cold shower before getting down to business. This is said to help control his temperature therefore, once again, making it easier for those boy sperms to thrive.
What if you want a girl?Â
More sex before ovulation – Get down to action a couple of days before you ovulate, the girl sperm will be waiting to fertilise your egg whereas the boys will be long gone.
Less enjoyment (for you) – When a woman orgasms, a more alkaline environment is created in the vagina that helps the boy sperm live longer. So, if you really want that little pink bundle you might have to give up your orgasm for the time being.
More acidic foods – Fill up on foods rich in calcium (yay ice-cream) and magnesium, but low in salt, to help create an acidic, girl-friendly environment.
Less alkaline foods – Avoid alkaline foods like bananas and potatoes (boy-friendly foods), and make sure you keep up your vitamin C levels.
The bottom line? If you want a boy, you need more support and less stress. If you want a girl, you need to up your sexytime and fuel your ice-cream addiction. I think I’d be going for pink… what about you?
