Sandy Dean

I heard from a woman who had just learned that the timing of her sexual intercourse (as it relates to ovulation) could have an influence on her baby's gender. And, since she thought she may have already conceived, she wanted to know which gender was more likely. She said, in part: "I have been checking for ovulation for the last three weeks. This morning, I actually got a positive. So, I woke my husband up and we had sex."

I sometimes hear from women who try to gauge their ovulation using their period as a reference point. But this method can become problematic when their period doesn't occur regularly or skips a month. This is especially true if they are trying to deliberating conceive at a certain time around their ovulation day in an attempt to get a girl or boy baby.

I heard from a woman who said: "I just got married, but this is my second marriage. I don't have any children but I want kids with my new husband. The problem is that I am 38 and he is 43. Are you more likely to conceive boys or girls as you get older? Because neither of us are all that young anymore, but we really want a boy baby." I will address these concerns below.

Most of the questions that I get about choosing your baby's gender concern specifics regarding your regimen before you attempt to have sex in order to conceive. Occasionally though, I hear from someone who has already had what they hope is conception sex and who is, after the fact, trying to influence their baby's gender.

I heard from someone who said, in part "I really want a girl baby. But looking back at my cycle, I'm realizing with a sinking heart that I had sex on my ovulation day and I know that this means that a boy is more likely. I am crushed by this. My question is whether anyone has ever had sex on their ovulation day and still had a girl?"

I heard from a woman who said "my ovulation is perfectly normal. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I ovulate almost perfectly mid way after my period, or around day 14. I've heard that this will make it easier to conceive. But does this make me more likely to conceive a girl or a boy?" There were plenty of assumptions in that statement. Unfortunately, not many of those assumptions were completely accurate. I will tell you why in the following article.

I heard from someone who said: "my cycle is very irregular. Some months, I will have 2 or 3 periods in just that one month. And then, I may go for a couple of months when I don't have a period at all. My gynecologist says that not every one is perfectly regular. But I worry about my ability to become pregnant. And I really do want a girl baby. I worry that it will be impossible for me to choose my baby's gender since I might have so few ovulation opportunities to work with."

I sometimes hear from people who are hopeful that they have just conceived and they are wondering if their timing is more conducive to having a girl or a boy baby. I heard from someone who said: "I'm pretty sure that I ovulated yesterday based on the timing of my menstrual period. And I think I may have just conceived. So if I am right and I have become pregnant the day after I have ovulated, am I having a boy or a girl?"

I often hear from couples who want to have sex very frequently in an attempt to become pregnant. They figure that since each instance of intercourse gives them a chance to conceive, why not have intercourse as often as possible so that you will have many separate chances to successfully become pregnant. And many couples do have success with this method. But what happens if you have a preference as to which gender you conceive?

I recently heard from someone who wanted clarification about the role that a woman's acidity plays in whether she has a girl or boy baby. Basically, she said something to the effect of: "I've heard that if you are acidic, this helps your odds for either getting a boy or a girl baby. Which is it? And is this myth true at all? And if so, why?"