Conceiving a girl: natural ways to have a daughter

There are many reasons why people might like to try to conceive a baby of a specific gender. Whether you have had a boy or several boys before, or would simply like to try for a daughter, here are some natural and non-invasive ways to increase your odds of conceiving a girl. Before going on to describe the different theories relating to natural gender selection, I'd like to make it clear that the methods I will now explain are contradictory, and do not guarantee that when you conceive, you will actually have a girl.

If you want to get pregnant with a girl and a girl only, it might be a good idea to examine what your feelings would be if you conceived a son instead. After all, none of the following methods are fool-proof. Even the medical gender selection techniques used in some countries do not have a 100 percent success rate. Bearing that in mind, here are the most popular and commonly used natural ways to have a daughter. The Shettles method is by far the most popular natural gender selection method. Developed by a doctor called Shettles, as the name suggests, this method advises couples trying to conceive a girl to have intercourse around three days before ovulation, in the missionary position. The Shettles methods is said to be the most accurate at-home gender selection technique, and we use it with the ovulation calendar on this site too. If you are interested in using the Shettles method, please check out our ovulation calendar to help you with it!

Another doctor called Dr Elizabeth Whelan developed the Whelan method of natural gender selection. According to her theory, the Shettles method was developed after looking into gender in combination with artificial insemination. Dr Whelan thus claims that intercourse should be timed nearer to ovulation, but still before it. Then, there is the method that is referred to as O + 12. Unlike the previous two techniques, this one was developed by a mother who failed to conceive a girl using the Shettles method. She has six boys before finding that what worked for her was having intercourse not before, but around 12 hours after ovulation.

Finally, there are theories that believe that dietary supplements can have a great impact on gender selection. Some people claim that women taking magnesium supplements have bigger chances of having a girl. Others claim that herbal supplements like Lydia Pinkham's Herbal Compound encourage a vaginal atmosphere that is favorable for sperm that with X chromosomes, which could contribute to conceiving a girl. There are many books available about natural gender selection. I advised anyone who is serious about conceiving a girl to read a few, and try to work out which method makes most sense. But again, none of this methods promises to be a 100 percent effective.