Old wives’ tales claiming to help you conceive a baby of a certain gender have been told since time began, but is there any truth to them?
According to a study from the Netherlands involving 32 couples, 81 per cent who stuck to a “gender selection” plan were successful.
And the best part? If you’re after a baby girl, Stuff.com.nz reports that ice cream could be the key.
According to the study, the gender selection plan involved timing sex based on whether the couples wanted a boy or girl. For example, having sex a few days before ovulation meant that when the egg was eventually released, the male sperm were already spent, while the female sperm were still available. This is because boy sperm swim faster but also die faster, while girl sperm are slower, but more resilient.
And here’s the fun bit; the second part of the gender selection plan involved dietary changes.
Apparently, to conceive a girl, the mother-to-be should eat foods “low in potassium and sodium but high in calcium and magnesium, to make the uterus more ‘female-friendly’.”
WATCH for some tips on how to have a baby boy. Post continues after video…
In other words – pig out on ice cream.
Look, we’re not saying we’re convinced. But it sure is a great excuse to bust out the Paddle Pops…
Of course, it’s only the latest in seemingly endless gender selection advice.
One common tip to conceive a baby girl is to use the missionary position, as it results in shallower penetration.
Others include avoiding having an orgasm, having more frequent sex, eating more fruit and vegetables, consuming more acidic food, having a warm bath before sex and eating fewer calories.
We don’t know about you – but the ice cream tip definitely sounds like the most fun.
Do you have any advice for conceiving girls? Or boys?
This post originally appeared on The Motherish.
Top Comments
The sex / timing / ovulation theory has been disproved.
My husband and I thought we'd give it a go for a girl with our third baby as we already had 2 boys.....we did the whole "try really hard and lower the count, and then stop a few days before ovulation" method and voila; a girl! Could have just been a coincidence, but we like to think we had some say in it :)