If you have been dreaming about having a baby girl, you may be wondering if there is anything that you can do to naturally increase your chances of conceiving a girl. There are several gender selection methods that have been developed and described, with the most well-known being so-called Dr. Shettles method.

Dr. Landrum B. Shettles has developed its method basing it on a few simple observations regarding the distinctive features of the girl sperm versus boy sperm. Girl sperm (sperm carring the X chromosome) are larger and stronger than boy sperm (with the Y chromosome). Girl sperm is more likely to live longer and withsstand harsh conditions better than boy sperm.

Timing the intercourse

Have sex regularly from the time your period ends until 2.5 to 3 days prior to ovulation and then stop. Abstain from sex from 2.5 days prior to ovulation to 3 days past ovulation, because this time is most conducive to conceiving a boy.

This may be tricky for many women, especially if your periods are not regular or if you are not familiar with the natural methods of ovulation prediction. Two of these methods that are most often used involve observation of the cervical mucous and charting the basal body temperature.

However, since length of follicular phase can vary between cycles, it may not be easy to exactly pinpoint the right moment for time intercourse. (Follicular phase is the first phase of your menstrual cycle during which follicles in the ovary mature; starting on the first day of your menstrual period and ending the day you ovulate - see the illustration below).

Having intercourse with shallow penetration

It is said that having sex with shallow penetration – for example, in the missionary position – is likely to result in conceiving a girl. The environment in the vagina is more acidic as you move farther from the cervix toward the vaginal opening, so the male sperm are more likely to die on the way to the egg.

The woman should NOT have an orgasm

Or woman has an orgasm first, before the man ejaculates. When a woman is having an orgasm, her vagina and reproductive tract release alkaline substances that favor boy sperm.

Increase acidity of the woman’s body

Male sperm are less likely to survive in the acidic environment. Methods that can be tried to make your body more acidic is adjusting your diet to eat foods that produce more acidic PH balance, or doing a vinegar douche right before intercourse (I do not recommend douching as it carries a risk of infection) .

• There are some statistics that claim that about 75% of couples will be successful in choosing the sex of their child using Dr. Shettles method. Of course it’s not guaranteed that you will conceive a girl using this techniques, or that you even become pregnant in the first place.
• If you are trying to get pregnant, keep in mind that with this method you are limiting the number of days you have sex, which diminishes your chances of becoming pregnant.
• On average, the chances of getting pregnant each month are rather low. Even healthy couples without any known fertility issues who are trying to conceive should remember that success may take time and effort. There is an approximately 25 % chance that the sperm will fertilize the egg; so a healthy couple who times intercourse properly has only a 25 % chance to conceive each month. The fewer days that you have intercourse while you are fertile, the lower your odds of getting pregnant.

If you are really determined to conceive a girl you may try a more technologically advanced - but also more costly - method of gender determination. Have your partner's sperm spun and then have intrauterine insemination procedure with only male sperm. This method is close to 100% effective. Boy sperm are lighter than girl sperm. When the sperm is spun in a container it causes all of the boy sperm to float to the top while all of the girl sperm sink to the bottom. This method will cost about $500.00.