“Is there anything I can do to make it more likely that my baby is a girl?”.

This was a question that one of my patients asked me a couple of weeks ago. She already has a little boy and, although she’d be happy with another boy, she would dearly love a baby girl. She is not alone. A recent survey showed that almost 80% of couples do have a gender preference when trying to conceive a child. Obviously a healthy baby is the priority and for many of my patients, who have struggled with infertility, a healthy baby is all they dream of. But if you do want to tip the scales in one direction there are some (far from foolproof) things you can do.

The first thing to understand, if you want to influence the gender of your child, is how nature selects the sex of a baby. This is determined by the sperm. Each sperm contains one chromosome, an X for a girl and a Y for a boy. Nature has organized it so that there are slightly more male sperm than female – for every 100 female sperm there are 110 male ones. The ovum or eggs also only contain one chromosome but this is always an X. So if the sperm is carrying an X chromosome and it is combined with the X in the egg, the fetus will be a XX or girl. If the sperm is carrying a Y chromosome and it is combined with the X in the egg, then the fetus will be a XY or boy.

Next we need to look at how the X and Y sperm differ. Y (boy) sperm are smaller and weaker than X (girl) sperm but they are speedier and can move faster than their female counterparts. Bearing in mind that the X (girl) sperm are tougher (and I know we’ll get comments about THAT in the YinOva waiting room next week!) anything that makes it harder to conceive is more likely to result in a girl. Conversely, bearing in mind that Y (boy) sperm are speedier, anything that makes timing more accurate so that the fastest sperm reach the egg, is more likely to result in a boy. The areas where we can have some influence and affect the gender of an as-yet unconceived child are the timing of intercourse, sexual position and vaginal environment.

Timing intercourse to influence gender

If you have sex right at or near the time the egg is released, then the speedier Y (boy) sperm will make it to the egg quickly and you will most likely have a boy. If the sperm are released two or three days prior to when the egg is released the Y (boy) sperm will die off and there will be more X sperm left waiting for the egg to appear and fertilization will most likely produce a girl.

Sexual Positions and their effect on gender

Again remember that the X (girl) sperm are hardier so anything that makes it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg favors them. The missionary position is the most beneficial position when it comes to conception and so is (slightly) more likely to result in a Y (boy) sperm reaching the egg first. Other positions that are shallower will give a small benefit to the X (girl) sperm.

Vaginal PH and it’s effect on gender outcome

The quicker but weaker Y (boy) sperm thrive in an alkaline environment whereas an acidic PH will give the X (girl) sperm a bit of an edge since the environment will be too harsh for the Y (boy) sperm. So you may want to try to create an acidic PH to conceive a girl baby. With this in mind some have found that a diet high in calcium and magnesium can favor a girl and a diet high in potassium and sodium can favor a boy. Having an orgasm can effect the vaginal PH as it creates an alkaline environment that is more favorable to boys.

There are some other, unproven, methods that some of my patients have told me about over the years. One is Lydia Pinkham’s Herbal Compound. This is a Victorian fertility tonic which is thought to help women conceive a girl, because it creates an acidic environment in the vagina. Another is the Chinese Conception chart which was first discovered in a royal tomb near Beijing more than 700 years ago. The chart cross-references the baby’s month of conception and the mother’s age to predict gender. Some studies claim the chart is more than 90% accurate and I have to admit that our YinOva mothers that have used it have had success. You can find an explanation of the chart here.

Jill Blakeway is the coauthor of Making Babies: A Proven Three Month Program for Maximum Fertility and the Clinic Director of the YinOva Center in New York City. A former Professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, she specializes in using acupuncture and Chinese herbs to treat women and children.

As many of you have pointed out to me morning sickness is a bit of a misnomer because in real life a wave of nausea or vomiting can strike pregnant women at any time of the day or night. Between 60% and 80% of pregnant women experience some nausea and vomiting although for most women this dissipates by the end of the first trimester. Just under 2% of women suffer from a more severe version of morning sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarium, which causes vomiting so severe that it leads to weight loss and dehydration. This kind of severe morning sickness may even warrant a stay in the hospital and treatment with IVF fluids and anti-emetic medications. Continue reading…

Today’s blog entry is written by YinOva Acupuncturist and Clinical Herbalist, Liz Carlson.

Preparing for baby often means making changes in your everyday life- some easier than others. Let’s face it: adding a prenatal vitamin or staying mindful of eating healthy, unsaturated fats are relatively simple tasks compared to letting go of your beloved daily cup (or three) of that rich, dark and ever so addicting…coffee. There is plenty of evidence that drinking coffee can reduce your fertility and heavy coffee consumption can be particularly damaging. This study found that women who drink four 8oz cups of coffee a day reduce their fertility by 26%. At The YinOva Center we ask women who are trying to conceive to reduce their coffee intake but we are only too aware that this can be difficult even for the most disciplined.

Like any drug, caffeine is addictive so when your body shows signs of physical withdrawal such as headaches and irritability, your will power can take a back seat. Our bodies respond best to kindness, so rather than quit cold turkey, it is better for most to ween and here are a few tips how: Continue reading…

Many of our patients are surprised to find out how much their weight can impact their ability to conceive. In fact an estimated 12% of all infertility issues are weight related and maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) is one of the most helpful things you can do to enhance your fertility.

So what is a healthy BMI? Doctors tell us that a BMI between 19 and 25 ideal. (BMI is calculated by calculating your weight in pounds and dividing it by your height in inches, then dividing it by your height in inches again, then multiplying the result by 703. Example: 140 pounds, divided by 67 inches, divided by 67 inches, multiplied by 703 gives you a BMI of 22.) Continue reading…

As some of you know I was on the CBS Early Show this week talking about foods that enhance fertility. You can watch the piece here if you missed it. It was a blustery day out there on the plaza and the segment was quite brief so I wanted to use this blog to give you more information about diet and fertility. Here is the advice we give our patients who are trying to conceive.

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This morning I have been exchanging emails with a patient who is newly pregnant. She and her husband have been trying to conceive for several years and they are thrilled to have finally achieved their goal. I am so happy for them and feel very privileged to have played a small part in their journey. As I thought about how Chinese medicine had helped this couple I was struck by how humbling it is to practice fertility medicine. Although my patient benefited from The YinOva Center’s fertility program and made much progress with regular acupuncture and Chinese herbs, the true star of the show was, as always, mother nature.

This was brought home to by some amazing pictures of ovulation actually occurring that were published in the June 11, 2008 edition of the New Scientist magazine. The pictures were captured by accident by a gynecologist, Dr Jacques Donnez, during an operation on a 45-year old woman at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Brussels, Belgium. The photograph below shows the whole process, which was described in the New Scientist article like this, “shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.”

Captured on film - the moment of ovulation

Obviously the above picture has been magnified. The egg is really the size of a tiny dot.

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