HOW TO CHOOSE THE SEX OF YOUR BABY
By L.B.SHETTLES, M.D.,Ph.D., and DAVID RORVIK.

Do you want a baby boy or a baby girl? If you have a preference about the sex of your next child, I guess this book will help you increase the probability of getting a child of desired sex from 50% to at least 75%. Some researchers, as documented in the book, have reported success rates, using the Shettles method, of approximately up to 90%.

(As the authors insist, and I also emphasize, that if you are seriously looking for something like this, please read the entire book before making your sex-selection attempt. Besides giving tips, it answers many other questions and also looks at some other methods for sex-selection for a child. It also elaborates on how to implement the techniques to improve your odds for having a child of the desired sex- boy or girl. The book may be available in your neighborhood public library. (I don't know the library coding system, but the book I have read has 613.94 SHE/ISBN: 0-385-24442-8).)

The book is based on scientific research. As we all know, the sex of the child is determined by the sperm that fertilizes the egg. If the sperm has an X, it gives birth to a girl child and if it has Y, it is a boy. The book says that X sperms are bulky and have more staying power while Y sperms are more agile, faster but with less staying power.
Also female reproductive tract goes through various degrees of alkaline and acidity and this can also be used to an advantage in sex selection.

* At one place in the book, it says: 'One thing we are convinced of: having intercourse every day will result in more girls, not more boys. The reason for this is that when ovulation occurs a certain number of sperm, ejaculated two or three days earlier, are likely to be lurking high up in the tubes, waiting for the egg. Those hardy survivors (X sperms) are most likely to be girl-producing sperm.'. (Jayesh: Please take this as a case of statistics or probability. This is not a certain black and white conclusion but the odds are more favorable for a girl child in this case.)

* Intercourse that occurs at or near the time of ovulation favors that smaller, faster, Y-bearing (male-producing) sperm, whereas intercourse that occurs well before the ovulation favors the larger, hardier, X- bearing (female-producing) sperm, which are slower but are able to survive longer in the more acidic, preovulatory environment. There are other factors, which are discussed in the book, but timing is the essence of sex selection. An intercourse 2-3 days before ovulation is more likely to result in a girl child where as an intercourse around the ovulation time has more probability of a boy child. (What is ovulation? How to determine the timing of it? How menstrual cycle works? The Cervical Mucus, which is thinner, cloudier and less abundant earlier in the cycle becomes thinner, more transparent and usually, but not always, more abundant as days to ovulation approach. How do you use this CM method? What is the Ovulation method? What is Basal Body Temperature (BBT) method to determine ovulation? For questions like this, I recommend you to read the book.)

* For a male child, when you believe that you are within four days of your time to ovulation, abstain entirely from any sexual activity that results in male ejaculation. It is important to increase the sperm count as much as possible- a factor that favors male conceptions. The authors recommend to have intercourse without a condom only on the suspected day of ovulation. It is especially important to use condoms for the first three days after ovulation has taken place. (One drug that may actually help you conceive a boy: Coffee. Let male not female drink strong caffeinated coffee 30 minutes before the intercourse to improve your odds for a boy.).

(One more finding: One recent study in Japan found that parents' smoking habbits have significant effect on sex of child. The study found that if at least one of the parents smokes, it increases the probability for a girl child. The underlying theory is similar to what the above book outlines: The male sperm which are relatively weak are likely to get reduced due to smoking habits of parents. (The study did not differentiate between the effect of smoking by mother and smoking by father on the sex of child.) (Source: Daily News, April 19, 2002)
Note: If you need a boy, please quit smoking. If you want a girl, try other safe suggestions but the smoking. No need to risk your life.)

* For a male child, the woman should also try to experience orgasm during the critical intercourse. And if at all possible, she should try to have it at the same time as or, better yet, just before the male orgasm. Female orgasm increases the quantity and naturally alkaline secretions that help rapidly transport sperm into the cervix which benefits more to a lighter, speedier, less bulky Y bearing male producing sperm. As repeated said, this is not a sure fire thing but it does increase your odds for a boy. Author also suggests deep penetration and also vaginal penetration from the rear when trying for the boy. * The success rate for conceiving girls is a bit lower than conceiving boys. For having a girl, Dr.Shettles advises couples to have intercourse four, three or two days before the suspected day of ovulation. Also try to have intercourse daily from the time bleeding ceases to and on the cutoff day- four, three or two days from ovulation. This helps in reduced sperm count which favors a girl child probability. Abstain after the cutoff day and use condom after three days after ovulation. (Why so? please read the book.) * Also for a girl child, use the "missionary position" during intercourse and a shallow penetration will help female producing sperm to be more successful in acidic environment. If the woman can avoid orgasm, while trying for the female, that can help too by avoiding alkaline secretions that are more favorable for a male child.These are just few highlights of the book and authors have done a nice job in touching every part of the process and discussing the matter from every angle. Though sometimes it buries you with some boring stuff, it overall does retain the practicability and relevance to the topic. I really enjoyed reading the book and I am sure this book can prove to be of significant help for a couple who has a preference for a boy or a girl. One of the very important motives behind writing about this book and putting it on my website is to help countries like India which have population growth as one of their biggest chellenges. Helping families get children of the desired sex in as minimum number of attempts as possible would help limit the family size. This will not only make those families more happy but would also help the countries control the population devil to some extent. So please tell your friends and relatives about the sex selection techniques and the book. Feel free to email the link to this page to them.

Good luck.

(Important Note: Please remember that applying the techniques for sex selection improves your odds for a child of desired sex but in no case it gurantees the outcome. Also we keep in mind what Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Geeta. One should put his/her best efforts possible when pursuing a certain goal but should leave it to God for the outcome. "Karmanyevadhikarstu, maa faleshun kadachin.")