In today’s high tech world, sperm clinics and infertility centers are able to actually choose the sex of your child. By spinning the sperm and separating the girls from the boys (X and Y’s) you can actually pay to pick the gender of your baby. However, high tech methods do not include sex in the privacy of you own home. In order to use the methods clinics employ, you have to use Assisted Reproductive Technologies. ART includes either getting pregnant by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization, both of which are very expensive and inconvenient.
There are different types of sperm spinning available in the United States and abroad. Microsort Sperm Sorting is available in the states and is used to separate X and Y sperms. It has a decent success rate, with 91% for a girl and 76% for a boy. PGD, or Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis has a 100% success rate because embryos are fertilized outside of the womb, tested for their sex and then implanted in the uterus.
Most couples cannot afford or want to use this expensive technology. Many techniques to try are both natural and easy, although not with as accurate results. There are plenty of wives tales, and even a Chinese Conception Chart that has been around for 700 years that “predicts” the sex of your child. These are fun to read and look at, but usually don’t have any merit or can’t be proven with scientific research. Some of the most popular tales have been if you want to have a boy, make love while standing up. If you want to have a girl, use the missionary position. Try eating meat and salty to foods to conceive a boy, and sweets to have a girl.
The most popular book on the subject is “How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby.” This book was originally written in the early 1960’s when scientist Dr. Landrum B. Shettles discovered the differences between Y (boy) and X (girl producing) sperm. He claimed that Y are lighter in weight, swim faster, but die sooner, and the X sperms are heavier, swim slower, but live longer. He then developed a low-tech method of gender selection that is still popular with couples today. In the 2006 version, Shettles claims that his followers have a 75% success rate, if they follow his directions perfectly.