Home Remedies for Sex Selection

Many couples nowadays having had two children of the same sex are keen to have another - but only if it is of the opposite sex. There is thus a natural interest in the question of whether some way or another couples might be able to influence the sex of their offspring by sex selection. This can obviously be readily achieved by antenatal diagnosis which by determining the sex of the foetus makes it possible to selectively abort any of the wrong' sex. Such a practice is outlawed in Britain so couples must resort to other means for which, though they certainly sound ingenious, there is no serious evidence of their effectiveness.

The sex of children is determined by whether the ovum is fertilized by a sperm carrying the usual twenty-three chromosomes together with the female sex X chromosome, or twenty-three chromosomes together with the male sex Y chromosome. They are called X and Y because of their shape and the only physical difference between the two is that the Y chromosome is missing one arm's length, so the sperm carrying it is infinitesimally slightly less heavy. Clearly, if sex selection is to work, it is necessary to separate the two types of sperm, and there must be some other distinguishing physical characteristic that allows this to be done.

In 1970 Dr Land rum Shettles, an American gynaecologist, reported that the Y bearing sperm swims faster and so, other things being equal, they should get to the ovum first and many more boys than girls would be born. But this is balanced, he claimed, by the fact that the X bearing female sperm, though less speedy, are more resilient and so less likely to be destroyed by vaginal secretions which are more acidic around the crucial time of ovulation.

If this theory is correct then it is possible to practice do-it-yourself sex selection.

For a girl: Couples wishing to have a girl should first douche the vagina with a diluted teaspoonful of acidic white vinegar which will selectively 'knock off' the competing sperm carrying the male Y chromosome. In addition they should be sure to nave sexual intercourse immediately around the time of ovulation — which can be determined by a slight rise in body temperature and the presence of a clear jelly-like vaginal discharge — as this gives the 'female' bearing sperm an equal chance against the male.

For a boy: By contrast, for those who wish to have a boy, the woman should douche the vagina with a diluted alkaline solution of sodium bicarbonate, thus rendering the environment less hostile to the male Y bearing sperm. In addition sexual activity should occur either just before or just after ovulation to maximize on the Y bearing sperm's ability to swim faster.

Dr Shettles subsequently proposed a further modification based on the observation that when the woman has an orgasm her vaginal secretions tend to be alkaline and so only those wishing to have a boy should try to achieve this pleasurable plateau.

Dr Shettles has sold a lot of books describing his techniques presumably because even if the method is completely valueless, half of all the couples following his advice would by chance end up with a child of their desired sex.