Comments on: Only 10% likely to have a daughter

By: Pinapalla

Pinapalla — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:32:57 +0000

I have done alot of research in this regard – we have 2 girls and I have read everything I can find about this, in hopes of increasing the chances our third might be a boy (though I’d be happy either way!) It is NOT a coincidence that alot of families have children all of the same sex, this has to do with several factors:
- men don’t necessarily have 50/50 sperm – even if you undergo PGD for genetic pre-determination they make you sign a form that you understand no embryos of the desired sex may occur because some men can have high percentages of one gender of sperm. Whit sperm sorting technology, the sample of male to female sperm do not always come out evenly
- The pH levels in the vagina can contribute – male sperm thrive in acidic environmants, female sperm thrive in alkali ones. What you eat, your habits etc can effect the pH of your vagina thus encouraging one gender of sperm over the other
- The viscosity of your vaginal discharge can sway the results. Boy sperm swim fast, but are less resilient long term while girl sperm are larger, slower but more resilient to time and environmental stress. If your vaginal discharge is more watery, the boy sperm can swim quickly and efficiently to their goal. If your discharge is thicker, the boy sperm likely won’t make it through, and the slower girl sperm, still alive by the time they reach the goal, will win.
-and timing, as someone else has already stated, as per the ‘Shettles method’
So if you have a neutral pH, your husband has been proven to have 50/50 sperm, and your discharge is not too slippery not too sticky, THEN you have a 50/50 chance.

My grandmother had 6 children – girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy. She says the secret is to “Put the pattern under you” LOL

By: mm

mm — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:34:22 +0000

Anne-Marie’s comment made me laugh!

By: Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:50:17 +0000

I only have an anecdote as well, but it’s an impressive one, if I do say so myself. My maternal grandmother had, in this order: 6 boys, 6 girls, 1 boy, 2 girls. For a total of 15 kids. But I guess if you’re going to have 15, you’re bound to defy probability at some point…

By: Emily (CityBaby Living)

Emily (CityBaby Living) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:18:35 +0000

All I have is anecdotal…my husband’s generation in his family has now produced the 10th great-granddaughter with no boys. And we have a friend who hasn’t had a girl born in to the family in 3 generations – including natural triplet boys. I’m sure these are scientifically sound, but we weren’t surprised when I was pregnant with this our 2nd girl.

By: sara

sara — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 05:47:09 +0000

In my family:
After 2 boys, my grandma had a girl. After 2 boys, my aunt had a girl. After 3 boys, another aunt had twin girls. After 2 boys, my cousin had a girl. After 2 girls, another cousin had a boy. So, I’m not a doctor or statistician, but those numbers don’t jive with what I’ve seen

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:04:31 +0000

In my case, that’s completely FALSE! I too, had three boys…followed by three girls!

By: Rachel Z

Rachel Z — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:45:55 +0000

I agree with Jen Vanya. From what I’ve read – and seen in my community of friends with kids – it’s usually a case of ‘fast sperm’ or ‘slow sperm’ in a family, resulting from genetics and environmental factors like Jen mentions. And timing. If you use natural or hormonal ways of “trying” to get pregnant (like an ovulation predictor kit), I think boys are more likely because of the timing. If fresh sperm meet a waiting egg, then you get a boy. If an egg pops into a pool of old sperm, you get a girl. Usually.

And to the ’50% chance of either sex’ folks, I am reminded of a Daily Show episode where some dude said, “There’s a 50/50 chance that the world will end tomorrow: either it will, or it won’t.” The interviewer said, “I don’t think that’s really how probability works.” LOL. Not really relevant for this conversation, I know, but I still get a giggle thinking about it.

Good luck trying for a girl Heather!

By: Liberty Reimschussel

Liberty Reimschussel — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:38:00 +0000

I’ve heard similar statistics before, but never read them in print or heard a source named. Just looking around, it doesn’t appear valid. Everyone in my family who has started out with two boys in a row has also had daughters. My mom – 2 boys, then 5 girls; my brother 2 boys, then 2 girls; my sister-in-law – 2 boys, then 1 girl.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:33:50 +0000

Just to note that while it would be terrific to have another girl, I’d be tickled blue to have another boy as well. I agree with Adrienne- the decision to have another should be about the joy of having another. I had a friend who recently had a third and I got the impression things would have gotten ugly for a little while if he had turned out to be a girl. Made me very sad.

By: adrienne

adrienne — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:19:10 +0000

Genetics aren’t like tossing a coin- and sex isn’t equally distributed at birth (there are currently 105 males born for every 100 females born in the US). Females survive better, so they’re statistically dominant in the whole population.

Old thoughts on sex determination have discussed everything from the father’s diet and his underwear preference to the positions of conception. New thoughts from evolutionary biology suggest that the mother’s BMI/weight may act as a trigger- a heavier mom means a community that can sustain growth, so a girl is born to increase the community’s population while a slimmer mom might signal a need for more hunters/heavy laborers. None of these theories however has made us smack our foreheads and say “why didn’t I ever see that before?”

I suspect your doctor trusts and repeats that statistic because he’s seen parents disappointed to find their “this will be a girl” baby is actually a boy. 10% reminds us that we should really want a baby and not be trying to fulfill an abstract desire to diversify our baby portfolio. No person should have to start life as a disappointment.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:28:47 +0000

I pondering a 4th and would really love another girl (we have 1 girl, 2 boys) so I’m doing a little reading on the folk wisdom of making girls- things about timing conception with ovulation, vaginal pH and other fun things. While the genetic crap shoot is technically always 50-50, I wouldn’t be surprised if couples had certain predispositions to one sex or another based on their personal habits and chemistry. Not that I have any medical training. I’m a civil engineer. If you want a road, I’ve got that covered, though.

By: RookieMom Heather

RookieMom Heather — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:23:05 +0000

I’m so glad I gut-checked this remark with you guys!