How To Sire More Sons (Or Daughters)
"Over the past 40 years, there have been small, but highly consistent declines in the proportion of male infants born in industrialized countries."
The idea that the sex of the offspring isn’t completely up to random chance has been believed for thousands of years, with various interventions claiming to help facilitate and skew in favor of one or the other. Textbooks speak about this “genetically determined” ratio being 1:1, but it takes even a cursory view of the scientific literature as well as various anecdotal evidence to see that both environmental and dietary factors can and do reliably influence the sex of the offspring. Parental age, smoking habits, geographical latitude, natural disasters, general stress, maternal diet, and hypothyroidism are just a few of them (García-Patterson et al., 2016). An extraordinarily skewed ratio was observed among Orthodox Jews living in Russia, as noted below.
“Among the Jews of Czarist Russia, the ratio [between females and males] was 100:150, sometimes even higher. Fifty years ago, he showed that this ratio only proves right among orthodox Jews, whose conjugal life is conducted according to religious regulations.”
Generally, women in poor health tend to have an increased stress hormone profile and birth more daughters than sons (Walsh, et al., 2019). A study conducted amongst schizophrenic women who gave birth at Michigan’s state hospitals found the sex ratio of the offspring (male to female) to be 0.8:1 (Shearer et al., 1967). High TSH in women during the first trimester is positively associated with a lowered sex ratio at birth (Donaire et al., 2013). High levels of salivary cortisol are positively correlated with decreased odds of male birth (Chason et al., 2012). Women anesthetists who are exposed to prolonged inhalational anesthetics agents tend to have more female children (Wyatt et al., 1973). Glucose availability and utilization are also a predictive factor in the sex of the offspring. Ray Peat has talked about the importance of glucose for the development of the fetus, where a deficiency acts as a stressor. Rjasanowski described a significantly reduced sex ratio at birth (0.31) in women with type 1 diabetes, while Moller observed its increase (0.568) in women with pregestational diabetes (Rjasanowski et al., 1998, MØller et al., 1998). The lack of availability of glucose in the former and the abundance in the latter confirms the abovementioned sentiment. There has been some research on the relationship between mineral intake and sex ratio at birth. 75-80% of the women who adhered to diets that had preselected amounts of potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium were able to successfully deliver a baby of their desired sex. As a general “rule”, diets high in sodium and potassium favor the birth of boys, while calcium and magnesium, girls (Stolkowski et al., 1980).
“To conceive a girl, the diet must be low in salt, to deplete the body of potassium, and high in alkaline-ash substances. This diet included 1528 mg of calcium, 254 mg of magnesium, 675 mg of sodium, and 2947 mg of potassium, supplemented once a day with a 500-mg calcium tablet and with vitamin D. Contraindications to this diet are hypernervousness, hypercalcemia, and renal insufficiency. To conceive a boy, the diet must be hypersalted. Dietary requirements were 297.0 mg of calcium, 135.0 mg of magnesium, 5000.0 mg of sodium, and 3873.5 mg of potassium, supplemented in morning and night with one tablet of Slow-K (600 mg of potassium chloride.”
The prevailing hypothesis as to why mothers birth more daughters under stressful conditions is that the female fetus (as well as the sperm cell that contains the (X) chromosome) is much more resilient than the male, the latter being far more sensitive to stress and changes in the environment. For example, during the September 11 attacks, there was a nationwide increase in the deaths of male fetuses relative to females, where the ratio of births kept falling three months after the incident (Bruckner et al., 2010). In 2003, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake was observed in Bam, Iran that destroyed 90% of the houses and claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people. There was a prominent decline in the sex ratio at birth, reaching 0.467 (Saadat, 2008). A similar decline was seen during the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1998). The same thing was observed during the London smog of 1952, and the Brisbane flood of 1965 (Lyster, 1974). An unusually low sex ratio at birth took place in Brigg after an outbreak of hepatitis (Robertson et al., 1973). Additionally, there is a statistically significant increase in female offspring when fathers fly fighter-type aircraft (as opposed to transport type) before conception, the former skewing the ratio by increasing stress levels (Snyder 1961).
The timing of conception has also been shown to influence the sex ratio of the offspring. Timing the intercourse 3-4 days before ovulation produces a 58% success rate of having a girl while timing it closer to ovulation drops it to 17% (Noorlander et al., 2010). Several other authors have shown similar results, the most famous of them being Landrum Shettles.
"By controlling the time of coitus, the birth sex ratios have been significantly altered. The nearer the insemination to ovulation, the greater the incidence of male born. Kleegan, Benedo, Rorvik, and Shettles attained 80 to 85% success rates. In other words, fresh egg and fresh sperm enhance the possibilities for male offspring, while fresh egg and older sperm tend to produce females."
In the 1960s, Dr. Shettles demonstrated in various experiments that the female (X) sperm (elongated with central chromatin mass, short tail) is much slower and durable than the male (Y) sperm, and can survive in acidic environments. The male (Y) sperm (more prevalent, smaller and longer tail, compact with a rounded head) is faster and requires a more alkaline environment for survival. He drew attention to the fact that the vaginal environment becomes more alkaline as it nears ovulation, and women can safely use an acidic or alkaline solution to change it.
“An acidic douche containing two tablespoons of white vinegar to one quart of water should be used to increase the likelihood of producing a female fetus. An alkaline douche containing two tablespoons of baking soda to one quart of water should be used to increase the likelihood of producing a male fetus. To be effective, the douches should be used prior to intercourse on every occasion. According to Shettles, those solutions are harmless to both the mother and the fetus.“
Someone pointed out to me the observation in the bodybuilding community about enhanced bodybuilders fathering more daughters than sons. If a generally acidic environment favors the survival of the sperm cells with an X chromosome, there may be a correlation between the production of lactic acid during intense training and its effect on the sex ratio at birth.
This is an interesting topic that doesn’t seem to have garnered much attention despite several studies showing great promise and efficacy when employed. This is by no means a complete summary, but it does help to point towards the idea that the various environmental stressors that have accumulated over the past century are slowly decreasing male births and there are ways of counteracting them in swaying the ratio.
Hard times create strong men, but they also create more women.
References
Bruckner, T. A., Catalano, R., & Ahern, J. (2010). Male fetal loss in the U.S. following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. BMC Public Health, 10(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-273
Chason, R. J., McLain, A. C., Sundaram, R., Chen, Z., Segars, J. H., Pyper, C., & Louis, G. M. B. (2012). Preconception stress and the secondary sex ratio: a prospective cohort study. Fertility and Sterility, 98(4), 937–941. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.06.
Donaire, I. M., Crespo, D. O., García-Paterson, A., Adelantado, J. M., & Pla, R. C. (2013). Sex Ratio at Birth Is Associated with First-Trimester Maternal Thyrotropin in Women Receiving Levothyroxine. Thyroid, 23(12), 1514–1517. doi:10.1089/thy.2012.0530
Fukuda, M., Fukuda, K., Shimizu, T., & Moller, H. (1998). Decline in sex ratio at birth after Kobe earthquake. Human Reproduction, 13(8), 2321–2322. doi:10.1093/humrep/13.8.2321
García-Patterson, A., Miñambres, I., Adelantado, J. M., Gich, I., Puig, T., de Leiva, A., & Corcoy, R. (2016). Sex ratio at birth is associated with type 1 diabetes characteristics. Acta Diabetologica, 53(6), 1025–1035. doi:10.1007/s00592-016-0919-0
Lyster, W. R. (1974). Altered sex ratio after the London smog of 1952 and the Brisbane flood of 1965. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 81(8), 626–631. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1974.tb00529.x
MØller, H., Jacobsen, R., TjØnneland, A., & Overvad, K. (1998). Sex ratio of offspring of diabetics. The Lancet, 351(9114), 1514–1515. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)78909-1
Noorlander, A. M., Geraedts, J. P. M., & Melissen, J. B. M. (2010). Female gender pre-selection by maternal diet in combination with timing of sexual intercourse – a prospective study. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 21(6), 794–802. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.08.002
Rjasanowski, I., Klöting, I., & Kovacs, P. (1998). Altered sex ratio in offspring of mothers with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The Lancet, 351(9101), 497–498. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)78685-2
Robertson, J. S., & Sheard, A. V. (1973). Altered sex ratio after an outbreak of hepatitis. The Lancet, 301(7802), 532–534. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(73)90341-3
Saadat, M. (2008). Decline in sex ratio at birth after Bam (Kerman province, Southern Iran) earthquake. Journal of Biosocial Science, 40(06). doi:10.1017/s0021932008002745
Shearer, M. L., Davidson, R. T., & Finch, S. M. (1967). The sex ratio of offspring born to state hospitalized schizophrenic women. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 5(4), 349–350. doi:10.1016/0022-3956(67)90023-4
Snyder, R., (1961). The sex ratio of offspring of pilots of high-performance military aircraft. Human Biology, 33(1), 1-10.
Stolkowski, J., & Lorrain, J. (1980). Preconceptional Selection of Fetal Sex. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 18(6), 440–443. doi:10.1002/j.1879-3479.1980.tb00537.x
Walsh, K., McCormack, C. A., Webster, R., Pinto, A., Lee, S., Feng, T., … Monk, C. (2019). Maternal prenatal stress phenotypes associate with fetal neurodevelopment and birth outcomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201905890. doi:10.1073/pnas.1905890116
Wyatt, R., & Wilson, A. M. (1973). Children of anesthetists. BMJ, 1(5854), 675–675. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.5854.675-a
I read a considerable amount of feminist literature in the late 1970s / early 1980s which bridged into theoretical lesbian books via Shulamith Firestone.
Even then, lesbians were dreaming about eliminating men from reproduction, initially just by-passing sex through artificial insemination but looking hopefully ahead to future technologies.
The other main topic was ensuring that lesbian couples conceived daughters. The research cited in your article is consistent with the techniques and practices recommended in these pioneering lesbian manifestos.
The other one, which is consistent with research you cite, is the role of sexual arousal in determining whether a boy or girl is conceived. Apparently, it was thought back then that a woman’s vagina tends to be a slightly acidic environment (conducive to girl-producing sperm, which is slower but hardier). As a woman approaches orgasm, however, this lesbian research suggested that her vagina becomes progressively more alkaline, which is a more benign environment and facilitates the success of the speedier but less hardy male-producing sperm.
In the lesbian literature, the authors took comfort from the fact that the amateurish turkey baster techniques for conceiving a baby without submitting to sexual intercourse with a man were highly unlikely to arouse a woman, making the chances of successfully conceiving a girl more likely.
Are you aware of any research that bolsters this claim?
Bravo 👏👏👏