Want to have a girl baby? Don't be misled by superstitions

Want to know how to conceive a girl when trying to have a baby? You are not alone.

Many people want to know how to conceive a girl (or a boy) naturally. The real answer is, you can’t, despite superstitions and old wives’ tales that might promise otherwise.

It’s an understandable question, and many people are curious about it. You might hope one way or another (gender disappointment is a genuine experience), but it’s another area of parenthood in which you’ll have no control over the outcome.

There is no natural way to determine the sex of a baby — not through supplements, vitamins, sexual positions or manifestations.

“Myths such as these are not grounded in science,” a spokesperson from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) tells TODAY.com. “A fetus’ sex organs don’t start forming until the 9th to 12th week. There are no proven methods that will provide accurate information on the sex before that time.”

Boy or girl?

Dr. Mark Dow, laboratory director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells TODAY.com that having a boy or girl is pretty random.

“In general, there is a very slight higher number of males than females born in the U.S.: about 105 boys to 100 girls,” says Dow, adding, “The sex of the baby is completely determined by the father. Men produced either X or Y sperm. One of these sperm will contribute to the egg, which is always X. XX babies are girls, XY are boys.”

And, there’s not much you can do about that, short of medical intervention.

Can you choose a baby’s sex through IVF?

There is a method through which couples can learn the sex of their unborn child.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a test called preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) can screen for genetic abnormalities with embryos created through IVF. As the website states: “PGT can ensure that the embryo selected for transfer has the correct number of chromosomes, thereby reducing the chances for a failed IVF cycle and reducing the chance of miscarriage.”

The test is to look for a condition called aneuploidy.

“This means there is either one of the pair of chromosomes missing (monosomy) or an additional one (trisomy),” Dow tells TODAY.com. “The most common babies born to term are from trisomy 13, 18 or 21. Most of the time aneuploidy is lethal and embryos may implant, but naturally miscarry.”

The testing doesn’t determine the sex chromosomes, he notes, but it does allow parents to know. Some hereditary diseases are linked to one particular sex, so parents would have that reason for choosing a female or male embryo.

“Additionally, some patients will choose a particular sex if they have embryos of each sex available,” Dow says.

Johns Hopkins Fertility Center does not encourage sex selection through embryo testing, explains Dow, “but ultimately we do believe in patient autonomy.”

The ACOG spokesperson tells TODAY.com that the organization “opposes all forms of sex selection not related to the diagnosis of sex-linked genetic condition.”

The spokesperson directed TODAY.com to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s Ethics Committee Opinion from 2022 which states that using preimplantation genetic testing for sex selection is “an ethically controversial practice.”

If your baby is not the sex you were expecting (or hoping), experts say the best thing to do is acknowledge your feelings.

While disappointment is a “very common” reaction to learning your baby’s sex, psychologist Emma Levine previously told TODAY.com, it “is certainly not a reflection of your capacity to love and care for your child.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com