Missionary? Doggie? Cowgirl? Kneeling Lotus? Quarter moon? Full moon? No moon? Is there really a best lovemaking time or position to have a girl or boy?
History of Designing Sex for a Boy or Girl
Methods for determining baby gender are ancient, even prehistoric, and range from astrological, to dietary to positional. One of the earliest references to this concept is the Chinese Birth Gender Chart, said to have been discovered in a tomb near Beijing for where it lay for 700 years. It supposedly now resides in the Institute of Science in Beijing. It claims to predict the sex of the child from the month of conception and the age of the mother.
It has also been said the many myths about sex position and timing determining baby gender resulted from the mad rush of lovemaking that followed the end of the World Wars and the return home of soldiers. I’m sure this influx of war torn yet triumphant, and testosterone laden yet depraved men gave new meaning to the term “Honey, I’m home!” for many mid-century modern couples.
The Lovemaking Myths
Here are the most common myths regarding sexual position and timing to help get that boy or girl. Sorry, no pictures. I hear these from patients all the time, as they look at me bright eyed, with heads nodding, searching for my blessing.
- Eat meat and salty food to get a boy.
- Splurge on desserts to get a girl.
- Both partners eat lots of fish and vegetables for a girl.
- Make love standing or doggy style and during a quarter moon or at night for a son.
- Use the missionary or cowgirl position and during a full moon for a daughter.
- The Shettle method suggests having sex as close to ovulation as possible, for a boy, as boy sperm are less robust than girl sperm. Do the opposite for a girl.
- If the male partner climaxes first, then a boy will be conceived. The opposite is suggested for a girl.
The Lovemaking Truths
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Despite all that you may have heard, there is no real data supporting the idea of a “best” position or time for sex to conceive a boy or girl. In fact, a prospective study of couples starting to conceive was actually published in 1995 in the New England Journal of Medicine that reported no relationship between the timing of intercourse and baby gender. Ah, but they did not study lovemaking position, thus keeping that myth and folklore alive! Come to think of it, that would be an interesting study to do, and one that I imagine would have no trouble enrolling subjects…
