TTC a Girl

pH Balance

Decrease your Cervical Mucus to More Acidic Levels

You will need to get a pH testing kit so you can determine the pH level of your Cervical Mucus(CM).  You can find these from many nutrition stores or on line.  Test your pH before you start any of the diets or douches around ovulation time specifically so you know what your body is in its current state.  **It is important to note that you cannot follow the directions on the pH kit about how to test your pH level.  It will tell you to test your saliva or urine.  That is NOT the pH value we are after.  The pH value we need is from your CM which is at the top of your vagina, secreted from your cervix.  You will need to test the pH on the days leading up to ovulation and through ovulation so you can see the changes your body makes based on ovulation timing. 

Once you know your pH level, there are two ways to make it more acidic and less plentiful- which is what you want for TTC a girl. You accomplish this through diet and douching.  You want to do as much as you can through diet because your reproductive tract is the place where conception occurs and we want to create the right environment all the way through and douching is only going to effect the pH within the vagina, which is important but fertilization occurs in your fallopian tubes and douching cannot effect that.

The pre-ovulatory cervical mucus plays a key role in fertility. The vaginal vault is normally a hostile environment for sperm. Sperm is only comfortable in alkaline (basic) solutions such as semen (with a normal pH of 7.2-7.8). The vaginal vault has a very low pH (acidic) of about 3-4, and sperm typically will not survive in the vagina for more than 1-2 hours. The cervical mucus has a variable pH that depends on the hormonal environment. The hormonal environment is correlated to the time of the menstrual cycle. Cervical mucus is alkalinic  just prior to the time of ovulation when the cervical glands producing the mucus reacts to the predominance of circulating estrogen to make mucus that is

1. more abundant,
2. clearer,
3. more elastic (stretchy),
4. less cellular,
5. more watery (less thick),
6. higher in pH, and
7. composed of strands that are aligned to allow greater sperm penetration

This is not helpful for TTC a girl so you are going to have to go against what your body is going to try and do naturally and attempt to change it.  The vagina is already acidic, so that is good.  You need to focus on keeping your cervical mucus pH low leading up to and through ovulation. X-bearing sperm can handle acidic conditions better than Y-bearing sperm so you want to try and eliminate as many Y-bearing sperm as possible by maintaing acidic pH.

Also, through the diet, which is discussed below, the amount of CM that your body produces will hopefull reduce.  Sperm love CM, the alkalinity is what makes them active in the female reproductive tract, so the less CM you have, the better.  The X-bearing sperm can handle the acidic conditions and make it through to the egg after the Y-bearing sperm have died off.

During intercourse, it is best that the woman does not have an orgasm because secretions released from an orgasm will increase your pH level.

Douching- The second way to reduce your CM pH

In addition to the diet, you can 1. keep your vaginal tract acidic through using an acidic douche- part water and vinegar and 2. the douching will help eliminate CM which favors Y-bearing sperm.  30 minutes prior to your attempt, use the water and vinegar douche and verify your CM pH to assure it is in the acidic zone.

Nutraceuticals

Nutraceutical is a term combining the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”, is a food or food products and supplements that provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. For our purposes, we will focus on 1.Functional Foods that support the conception of your Dream Gender and 2. Dietary Supplements that sway female.

Dietary Supplements

Calcium and Magnesium

Calcium and Magnesium supplementation was shown in our scientific studies to increase ones chances of a girl conception.  Adding a dietary supplement for each will be beneficial for TTC a girl.

Functional Foods

What to eat to have a baby girl?   With the research currently available today, it is accepted that X-bearing sperm do better in a more acidic environment than Y-bearing sperm.  We won’t go so far as to say they “prefer” an acidic environment because all sperm need an alkalinity higher than what they came from (which is a pH of 6 while inactive in the man’s body) to activate themselves and be able to swin to the egg.   What you are hoping for is more of a survival capability of the X-bearing sperm because it seems to handle acidic environments better and lives longer than the Y-bearing sperm.

So, using this theory that X-bearing sperm do better and survive longer in a more acidic environment, you can help foster this environment by attempting to alter the pH of your body which will have an effect on your cervical mucus.  

The vagina is already an acidic environement, so parents trying to conceive a girl have a great starting point but the pH we are trying to alter is your cervical mucus pH which sits at the opening of your cervix at the top of your vagina.  The pH level of cervical mucus rises the closer you get to ovulation, so you really have to stay on top of your pH and do what you can to keep it low. 

This may be accomplished in a couple of ways.  The first is though consuming Functional Foods.  The foods and beverages you drink can have a great effect of your environment and secretions.  

Keeping these differences in mind, by keeping your vaginal reproductive tract more on the acidic side, you can create an environment that the boy sperm will find survival very difficult. This leaves only the girl sperm left to fertilize the egg resulting in the baby girl you want. So eat Functional Foods that are acidic and avoid foods that are alkaline.  Also you need to eat Functional Foods rich in calcium and magnesium, and avoid foods high in potassium and sodium.

Functional Foods to eat when you want a girl: Foods high in calcium like dairy products ( milk, yogurt, cheese) and magnesium (beans, legumes, leafy green vegetables) as well as highly acidic foods like some fruits (plums, prunes, cranberries) as well as corn, red meats, fish, and whole grains.) Foods to avoid if you want a girl:Alcohol and caffeine (coffee and chocolate) any foods high in potassium such as bananas, most vegetables, orange juice ( yes, it’s not as acidic as you may have thought) potatoes, spinach, and watermelon.

More on Caloric Intake

The Trivers Willard Hypothesis is a biological theory that has been around for over 30 years.  In a nutshell, it states that it makes more sense (evolutionarily speaking) for mothers who are in better physical condition to have more boys, while mothers in poorer physical condition, would tend to have girls. Trivers Willard has been widely researched in a variety of different mammals including humans, and there seems to be something to it.  You may have read some of the recent articles regarding sex ratio, stating that moms that smoke are more likely to have girls, while those who eat breakfast cereal are more likely to have boys?  Well, that is Trivers Willard in action. 

A lot of attention has recently been given to the correlation between what a pregnant woman eats before conception and the gender of the baby she ends up having.  A recent study indicated that women who consume more daily calories (as much as about 2200) and consumed breakfast were more likely to conceive a boy. 

Timing

The O + 12 Method works with the body’s natural reaction to ovulation.  Once ovulation occurs, progesterone is secreted and estrogen levels drop, which reduces the amount of CM and makes the CM more acidic.  This study found that the only day where more female births occurred was ovulation day but AFTER ovulation has occurred.

To summarize-

Have your husband abstain for 7 days prior to your attempt.

Have intercourse only ONCE 8-20 hours AFTER ovulation has occurred and you CM begins to change from an egg white quality to more creamy and white in color.  The pH will also drop naturally during this time. 

Do NOT have intercourse again until you are sure you are no longer fertile.

Use a condom or wait until you are sure you are no longer fertile before having intercourse again, because that “fresh” batch of sperm will be more likely to have more male sperm.

Continue to monitor your pH levels through ovulation and for the next 24 hours after to try and keep it as low as possible to give the X-bearing sperm the best chance to reach the egg first.

O + 12 is not easy because it requires that you know precisely when ovulation occurs and then start counting from that point.  Too early and you will be in the boy zone and too late and you will miss the fertile window because the egg will have expired.  Because of this, it might take much longer to TTC a girl than a boy. Know your O!

Environment and Ions

You cannot always control your external environment.  Sometimes you must work to counteract what is going on around you.  Negative ions are associated with more girl conceptions so anything you can do to increase the amount of negative ions around you is good for TTC a girl.  When the moon is in a New Moon phase, the negative ion concentration is at its highest.  You cannot always be ovulation in New Moon Phase so here is what you can do to counteract and promote the correct ions:

Electronic devices like televisions, computers and air-conditioning all decrease negative ion concentrations so try these steps to counteract the effect

1. Spend more time outdoors especially after it rains
2. Take long showers
3. Purchase an air ionizer (or negative ion generator) is a device that uses high voltage to ionize (electrically charge) air molecules. Most commercial air purifiers are designed to generate negative ions.
4. Have a fan blowing on you while using any electronic device
5. Light some beeswax candles
6. Keep a plant in the room where there is an electronic device located
7. Buy a small water fountain that you can keep indoors
8. Avoid long periods of time in air conditioning

Sperm Qualities for a Girl

Semen has a pH of 7.2-7.8.  Sperm activate when they enter the female reproductive tract, beginning with the vagina.  For a girl, a lower sperm count is thought to give the X-bearing sperm an advantage so you will need to have your husband abstain for atleast 7 days in order to keep his count low and aid in a female conception.  IVF clinics prefer 3-4 days for the best possible sample so staying outside of this timeframe will reduce your partner’s count.

You only want to have intercourse ONCE when TTC a girl.  Semen has a higher pH than desired for trying to conceive a girl so by only having sex once, you keep the amount of semen to a minimum and thus have more control over your pH through remaining on the Nutraceuticals and using an acidic vaginal douche.

Men should follow the Nutraceutical program too in order to attempt to keep semen pH as low as possible.  Looking for acidic Functional Foods and supplementation with calcium and magnesium should assist with lowering semen pH. Do not consume caffeine around your attempt so Y-sperm do not get that extra “boost”.