How to conceive a girl: Increasing your chances and understanding the science

A photo of a pregnant belly with pink baby shoes, representing the question of how to conceive a girl?
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Created with Hector Chapa, MD, FACOG, Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USA

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In a nutshell

There are several popular natural sex selection methods out there detailing ways to conceive a girl, though the scientific evidence to back them up is lacking. People think your preconception diet, the timing of intercourse, and how you have intercourse can determine the sex of the baby you conceive. While it might be nice to believe you can tip the scales towards the sex you want, there’s no guarantee you’ll conceive a girl.

There are lots of reasons why you might want to know how to have a girl. Perhaps you already have children and would like to balance your family in terms of sex. Or, maybe the risk of a genetic condition is greater with a particular sex. Whatever your reasons, sex selection isn’t something you can achieve at home. 

While there are various methods out there claiming to answer how to guarantee a baby girl, there is very little scientific evidence to back up these claims. These methods usually focus on the timing of sex, the food you eat, and even the position you have sex in.

How to calculate a fertile window?

Femia offers the most accurate tool for determining ovulation and fertile days

Try Femia now

How is gender determined naturally?

In humans, biological sex is determined at the point of conception. Sex is determined by chromosomes. Each individual has two sex chromosomes, one present in the mother’s egg and one in the father’s sperm (there are rare exceptions to this rule). 

The female’s egg always provides an X chromosome. The male, on the other hand, creates two types of sperm: one carrying the X chromosome and one carrying the Y. Tens of millions of sperm are released at conception, but only one will fertilize the egg. If an X sperm fertilizes the egg, your baby’s sex chromosomes will be XX, and they will be a girl. If a Y sperm gets there first, your baby will have XY sex chromosomes, and you’ll be welcoming a baby boy in around nine months. 

After the point of conception, there is nothing you can do to influence the sex of your baby. The methods for conceiving a particular sex are based on timing intercourse and what we know about sperm behavior. However, many of these theories have been disproven, so you should take them with a pinch of salt.

Natural methods for conceiving a girl

If you’re wondering how to get pregnant with a girl, you might be interested in natural sex selection methods. Some people swear by these natural methods of sex selection, but they provide no guarantees that you’ll end up with your preferred sex.

The Shettles method for conceiving a girl:

  • Have regular sex from the end of your period up to three days before ovulation. 
  • Opt for shallow sex positions, so the fast-swimming male swimmers have further to travel in the hope they tire themselves out and expire before they reach the egg. 
  • The woman should avoid orgasm, which makes the vagina more alkaline. According to Shettles, an alkaline environment favors male sperm and so must be avoided if you want to increase your chances of having a girl. You only have to speak to your friends with daughters to find out this advice is scientifically unsound and probably best ignored. It’s crucial to remember that there is no reliable, scientifically proven method to guarantee the conception of a girl, and relying on unproven techniques can lead to frustration.

The Whelan method to conceive a girl:

  • Have sex three days before ovulation up until the day of ovulation. 
  • Track your temperature to understand your cycle and ensure you are timing sex effectively.

Diet-based approaches to conceiving a girl:

According to the theory, the vagina is most hospitable to sperm around the time of ovulation, when it presents an alkaline environment. Outside of ovulation, the vagina is more acidic and less hospitable to visiting sperm. Y sperm are generally considered more fragile and less capable of surviving in harsh conditions. 

Some argue that eating certain foods can keep your vagina acidic and give the X sperm an increased chance of success. To try this, eat foods such as:

  • Green, leafy vegetables
  • Meat 
  • Wholegrains 
  • Blueberries 
  • Almonds
  • Beans

A 2008 study published in Proceedings Biological Sciences found that women with a higher preconception calorie intake had a higher chance of having boys. That doesn’t mean you need to go on a diet to have a girl; it simply proves that diet could play a role in sex determination.

Another 2010 study published in Reproductive Biomedicine found that a diet high in magnesium and calcium, coupled with timing sex well before ovulation, increased the likelihood of having a girl. 

👉Find out more: How to boost fertility: 7 natural ways to increase your chances of getting pregnant

Best days and timing for conceiving a girl

Many people believe avoiding sex around the time of ovulation will increase your chance of having a girl, though there is a risk that you’ll avoid falling pregnant altogether. The question of when to have sex to conceive a girl hasn’t been thoroughly answered by scientists, so take the following advice with a pinch of salt and keep expectations realistic.

The Shettles method to conceive a girl

The Shettles method, devised in the 1960s, claimed that X sperm have a longer shelf life. He claimed that Y sperm swam faster and that having sex during ovulation gave Y sperm an increased chance of reaching the egg first. Shettles advised couples dreaming of a girl to avoid sex in the days around ovulation.

Shettles claimed that the best fertile days for a baby girl came prior to ovulation. He argued that having sex three days before ovulation would allow the X sperm to lie in wait while the Y sperm would fail to survive long enough to meet the egg upon ovulation. A 2017 study published in Human Reproduction confirmed that X sperm can survive longer in certain conditions.

The Whelan method to conceive a girl

Another popular method for sex selection is the Whelan method. Whelan claimed the Shettles method didn’t work and devised her own. Whelan believed where a woman was in her cycle impacted how well the X and Y sperm performed and that you could time intercourse to give your preferred sex a better chance of success. Whelan advised couples to have sex four to six days before ovulation for a boy and closer to ovulation for a girl.

The risk of avoiding sex around ovulation

While this may seem like an argument for avoiding sex around ovulation, it’s important to remember that this may decrease the chance of conception. If you’re keen to get pregnant, you should time sex to coincide with ovulation to increase your chances of conceiving. 

Your fertile window begins around five days before ovulation and lasts until the day following ovulation. Having sex during this fertile window means you have a chance of conceiving in that cycle. Use a cycle-tracking app like Femia to keep track of where you are in your cycle, so you can time sex to boost your chance of getting pregnant.

👉Find out more: If you ovulate in the morning can you get pregnant that night?

Tips to increase chances of having a girl

There is no scientific method to guarantee you will have a baby girl, so please keep your expectations realistic. While scientists have been exploring this issue for decades, they have not provided concrete evidence to back up any theories. While you might want to restrict sodium and eat a diet high in magnesium in the hopes of conceiving a girl, there is no guarantee this will work.

Common myths and misconceptions about conceiving a girl

Just as people love to try and guess the sex of unborn babies, people also like to think we have the power to control what sex babies we conceive. Realistically, none of the methods mentioned in this article provide 100% certainty or any guarantee. If you feel very strongly about only wanting a baby of a particular sex, it’s worth exploring why you feel this way. Rather than focusing on how to make sure you have a girl, it’s worth questioning why you are so keen to have a daughter. 

How to guarantee a baby girl according to myths and legends:

  • Eat chocolate
  • Have sex in the missionary position 
  • Time sex to coincide with a full moon

Obviously, there’s no truth in any of these, but there’s no harm in giving the chocolate one a try.

How to calculate a fertile window?

Femia offers the most accurate tool for determining ovulation and fertile days

Try Femia now

Questions from the Femia community

  • Is there any scientific way to guarantee a girl?

    If you’re having in-vitro fertilization (IVF), you can opt to have sex selection genetic testing before implantation and choose to implant an embryo of your preferred sex. With natural selection, however, there is no way to guarantee a baby girl. 

  • Can diet really affect whether I conceive a boy or a girl?

    Some studies have found links between maternal diet and an increased chance of conceiving a baby of a particular sex. However, having a slightly increased chance of conceiving a girl is not the same as definitely conceiving a girl.

  • Are there any medical interventions to ensure I have a girl?

    Yes; if you're having IVF, you can have a preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). As the name suggests, this takes place before implantation and gives you a clear picture of the embryo’s genetic makeup, including its sex. This process is often costly, and you would need to think carefully about how to proceed if the embryo is not your desired sex. 

The bottom line

Many couples want to know how to have a baby girl. While there are many natural sex selection methods that claim to work, there’s very little science supporting the popular techniques. Trying for a baby can be stressful enough without adding another layer of rules and worries.

While you can try switching up your diet and avoiding unprotected sex on certain days to try and have a girl, you might be better off focusing your energies on just getting pregnant. Rather than following a diet to conceive a girl, you should focus on eating a healthy, balanced diet to help you conceive. 

If you want to try any of these methods, you can, but know that they won’t guarantee that you have a girl. The risk with avoiding sex around ovulation is that it could decrease your chance of conceiving at all. Make an appointment with your OBGYN to discuss your plan to try for a baby and get tailored health advice to help you succeed.

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