My experience with shettles method

My mother in law gave me the book on How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby as a bridal shower gift before the wedding. I thought it was interesting and never heard of the book before, never even thought this was possible. She said she had used this method when having her 3 children. She had read an article in the newspaper about in the 1970s. The book was first published in April 1970. Although my husband and I are going to be trying for a boy, I just wanted to say we would both be over the moon if it was a girl too. In the end we just want a healthy happy baby. Since we don't mind the sex of the baby I was curious to see if the Shettles method will work.

After I had read the book I was actually a bit curious about who Landrum B Shettles M.D., Ph.D is? He unfortunately passed away in 2003 at age of 93. But the accomplishments he left behind are astonishing. As an early developer of In Vitro Fertilization,  he experimented with sperm biology. He dedicated his entire life to research and retired only 3 years after his retirement. I am a big advocate of science, so he left a huge footprint on the world and giving families a chance with IVF. 

The success rate continues to be 75% or better for girls and 80% boys and is not 100 percent successful because of many factors are involved. It's mostly a method of timing, and if you are a woman with irregular menstruation it will take some extra work. There are other methods out there, such as the Whelan Method (another timing method), Diet Sex-Selection Method (The Preconception Gender Diet by Sally Langendoen R.N. and William Proctor), PDG (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) and IVF which can cost $18k - $20k, but unfortunately most fertility clinics will not use PGD for sex selection purposes. 

If you plan to use the Shettles Method, the first thing you need to do is track your ovulation. I did this with the Ava bracelet, Ovulation Kit, and the Basal Body Thermometer(BBT). In the images below, I used the Sprout+ App to document my basal body temperature each morning to help determine my ovulation date. The average woman's cycle is 28 days and estimate ovulation date would be day 14 of cycle. My cycle length was on average 26.5 days and usually ovulated between days 11 -13. Below are my charts showing how Sprout+ was tracking my ovulation. I did this for 5 months. 

 I then started using the LH ovulation strips 5 days before my estimate ovulation cycle, tracking LH on days 8 - 13. ​The Ava Bracelet charts below are in blue that will track your resting pulse rate, skin temperature, breathing heart rate, sleep, HRV ration, and Weight. 

If you are trying for a boy, your best chances are in the 12 hours before ovulation occurs and still have significant chances of conceiving a boy than a girl when intercourse occurs within 24 hours before ovulation. When you are within the 3-4 days of ovulation abstain entirely from any sexual activity that results in male ejaculation, this will increase sperm count. No hot tubs as excessive heat kills sperm. No drugs, prescription or over the counter. Have your partner drink some coffee 15-30 minutes prior to intercourse. The woman trying to conceive a boy should also orgasm before her partner as it increases the alkalinity. 
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If you are trying for a girl, it is recommended to have intercourse 3 days before ovulation. If that doesn't work move it to 2.5 days before ovulation, withhold female orgasm, and shallow penetration. 

The scientific reasons that Shettles state are that male sperm are faster than female sperm but die off faster, they thrive in an alkaline environment vs an acidic environment. Female sperm are slower than male sperm but can survive longer, they can survive in an acidic environment and will wait for the egg for longer period of time before its released.

We were planning for a boy, but we jumped the gun too soon and found out we were having a girl, because I was off on my ovulation dates. I thought I was ovulating soon as the LH strips were showing a positive result but I wasn't at my peak. I believe I ovulated on Thanksgiving 2017 and we were too early as we had intercourse the day before, more than 12 hour mark. 

We found out we were having a girl at 10 weeks through a Prenatal Screen Blood Test with Counsyl. I highly recommend this test for everyone, you can still keep the sex of the baby a surprise. It tests for Trisomy 21, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13 with greater accuracy than the California State NIPT test. My insurance did not cover the cost, it was $375 but well worth the cost of a peace of mind of having a healthy baby. 

​If you want a better understanding of Shettles Method I recommend reading the book: