Female gender pre-selection by maternal diet in combination with timing of sexual intercourse – a prospective study

Abstract 

Natural sex selection methods have been applied for several decades, but their use and effectiveness are still a matter of debate. Therefore, this study assessed the efficacy of a maternal diet low in sodium and high in calcium, in combination with timing of intercourse well before ovulation as a method to improve the chances of conceiving a girl. A total of 172 couples wanting a girl participated in the study. For the 150 couples that actually started, compliance with diet was assessed through mineral analyses of blood and timing of intercourse relative to ovulation was determined by ovulation tests. Based on mineral blood values and timing of intercourse of 28 participants, a prediction rule for conceiving a girl was constructed and was tested prospectively for validity on a subsequent group of 50 women. In this group, 21 women satisfied the criteria of the prediction rule and 16 gave birth to a daughter. It is concluded that the combination of maternal diet with timing of intercourse is capable of increasing the probability of conceiving a girl (P=0.005). The observed percentage of female babies for all 32 women satisfying the prediction rule was 81% (95% confidence interval 68–95%).

Natural sex selection methods have been applied for several decades, but their use and effectiveness are still a matter of debate among medical professionals. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy of a maternal diet low in sodium and potassium, high in calcium and magnesium, in combination with timing of intercourse well before ovulation as a method to improve the chances of conceiving a girl baby. A total of 172 couples wanting a girl volunteered to participate in the study and the 150 couples that actually started were followed during their treatment and possible pregnancy. Compliance with diet was assessed through mineral analyses of blood. The participants determined timing of intercourse relative to ovulation by ovulation home tests. Based on mineral blood values and on the time interval between intercourse and ovulation, a prediction rule for conceiving a girl was constructed and tested for validity in a new group of 21 couples. In total, 32 women satisfied the conditions of the prediction rule and the observed percentage of female babies in this group was 81%. The conclusion of the study is that a maternal diet together with timing of sexual intercourse and use of a prediction rule will lead to an increased probability of a girl baby. It is important that both diet and timing are followed correctly, which requires of the mother both willpower and meticulousness.

Keywords: gender pre-selection, natural sex selection, pre-conception diet, sex ratio, timing method