Here's How To Conceive A Girl

When I was trying to get pregnant, my Chinese grandmother-in-law brought out this calendar thing and input my birthday and my husband's to determine when we should have sex to make a boy. There was nothing on how to improve your chances of conceiving a girl though. Also, it's really awkward when a 72-year-old woman is giving you suggestions on when and how to have sex with her grandson.

It only made matters worse when we did finally announce that we were, in fact, having a boy. She actually took me over to her youngest daughter to explain just how well her advice had worked, and if she worked hard on it as well, she, too could be pregnant with a boy very soon. Needless to say, there were more hand gestures and her daughter and I just wanted to become one with the floor.

But what if you want a girl? There are far fewer old wives' tales and even less evidence-based advice out there about how to improve your chances of conceiving a girl. Sure, there are articles aplenty with all sorts of strange advice about your vagina's pH, and when you should be intimate with your partner, but is there any science?

As it turns out, there might be. A study completed at Maastricht University in The Netherlands found that following very specific nutritional guidelines coupled with an even stricter sex schedule may, in fact, increase the likelihood of conceiving a girl. The diet calls for a drastic reduction in salt intake, especially salty foods like luncheon meats and shrimp, and increasing the amount of food that you eat which is dense in calcium and magnesium like broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, yogurt, milk, chocolate, and salmon. Also, knock out excessive potassium, like fortified cereals, bananas, sweet potatoes, and white beans.

The sex schedule revolves around avoiding sex for the days leading up to ovulation, the study claimed, and only having sex the day before and day of ovulation, which enhances the chance of the desired sperm to reach its goal.

That being said, this study was not longitudinal, and had a fairly small control group of just over 170 couples. It's by no means a proven method, and really requires further study. Until then, embrace your love of yellow baby clothes and try to go with the flow, because girl or boy, that little person is about to rock your world.