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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

Sway for a boy

18 replies

Gee65 · 20/07/2021 18:45

Hey; I gave birth to my first daughter in February and would love to try for a boy next time round. I am currently on birth control. I’ve heard if I have sex during ovulation is my best chance. Has anyone ever tried this? Am I not allowed sex for the rest do the month other than ovulation. Do I track ovulation after my withdrawal bleed or after my first proper period, as I would like to start trying straight away? Am I ovulating when the smiley face shows on the test? Does anyone have any other tips? Thank you x

OP posts:
xoJellyBean · 20/07/2021 19:24

I'm a little confused... did you hear that to have a boy you have sex only at ovulation time or to get to get pregnant in general?

DramaAlpaca · 20/07/2021 19:33

Well... I had my children back in the days before OPKs were invented. I could tell by physical signs that I was ovulating, and it was fairly easy to work out anyway because my cycle was 28 days and very regular. I wasn't at all bothered whether I had boys or girls so we concentrated our efforts on or either side of ovulation day. Result - three boys! Totally anecdotal of course, I'm just a sample of one.

I'd wait until you have a proper period and count from there. As for the smiley face on the test, not a clue sorry. If you have cervical mucus that is stretchy and clear like egg white in the middle of your cycle, that is a sign that you are ovulating so go for it then.

Original poster
Gee65 · 20/07/2021 19:40

I heard to sway boy you have sex at ovulation and to sway girl you have sex just before

OP posts:
Original poster
Gee65 · 20/07/2021 19:41

Ahhh thank you !! Dramaalpaca

OP posts:
00100001 · 20/07/2021 19:42

LOL, it's completely random.

No amount of timing, doing special dances, saying prayers, eating certain foods etc will make a single iota of difference.

Bancha · 20/07/2021 19:44

I have heard that too, but don’t know how scientific it really is Hmm

I’m interested to see what others say!

RavenclawsRoar · 20/07/2021 19:45

This is the shettles method and while it seems very popular, it has been debunked by further research. The idea that male male female sperm have different speeds isn't true - all sperm move at different speeds depending where they are in their life cycle (or something like that). There is no way to sway a gender that has been proven. My friend fell down this rabbit hole so I did look into it and as far as I can remember the only two things that have ever been connected to conceiving boys are that women who eat breakfast are more likely to have a boy and millionaire men are more likely to produce male sperm! But even those studies say that those things don't necessarily cause a boy to be conceived- it's just a pattern they noticed.

Bancha · 20/07/2021 19:46

But yes if you have the digital clearblue OPK you are about to ovulate when you see the static smiley face. I would have thought that not having sex until you ovulate (as in, avoiding sex in the fertile days leading up to ovulation) would just reduce your chances of getting pregnant.

DramaAlpaca · 20/07/2021 19:48

Haha, I always eat breakfast but my DH certainly isn't a millionaire! Grin

RavenclawsRoar · 20/07/2021 19:49

Same, I have 3 boys but dh is sadly lacking in millions Grin

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 20/07/2021 19:58

there are two theories that I think might hold some water. I read about both years ago and they seemed to make sense.

1: the pH level (more acidic v more alkaline) of the vaginal fluids.
one favours the Y sperm to survive, the other favours the X sperm.
I can't remember which is which.
There are a number of ways to achieve either but obviously there are no guarantees.

  1. apparently if people have sex a few days before ovulation they are more likely to have a girl, because sperm can survive for up to 7 days in the fallopian tubes while waiting for the egg to pop and although X sperms swim slower they are much more likely to outlive the Y sperms.

conversely, as Y sperms swim faster, having sex just as the woman ovulates and for a few days after is more likely to yield a boy.

make of these theories what you will

Bananarice · 20/07/2021 20:01

I have three boys (actually gave birth to four boys). I don't eat breakfast and dh is not a millionaire.

ShowOfHands · 20/07/2021 20:02

It's all been thoroughly debunked.

Not only was Shettles wrong, he got male and female sperms the wrong way round.

There is no way to sway it. Your chances remain around 50/50 whatever you do.

BiscuitLover09876 · 20/07/2021 20:02

It's been proven not to work, but sure, give it a go!

And yes, you just do it on the day of ovulation. The idea is 'boy sperm' are 'weak' but there are loads of them so do if when you ovulate. 'Girl sperm' are stronger so if you do it a few days before only those will survive.

But it's bollocks Grin

Also please don't put too much on this. You have beautiful baby who loves you and getting one sex over the other really isn't all that.

BiscuitLover09876 · 20/07/2021 20:04

Also it didn't work for me ;) I had sex days before ovulation and still had a boy.

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 20/07/2021 20:14

@RavenclawsRoar

something's definitely iffy with that theory: although DH is a high earner I seldom eat breakfast so we should have had 4 each.
but we have 6 boys and a girl (and MC was a girl too).

I have to go with MIL's theory that bossy women have more boys.
When she told me we had a right old giggle, she has 4 sons🤣

DramaAlpaca · 20/07/2021 20:16

Bossy women have more boys

Ha, that'll be why I have boys then Grin

RavenclawsRoar · 20/07/2021 20:31

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba now that's a theory I can get on board with! Grin pretty sure DH would agree too!

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