I have to admit that most of the correspondence that I get comes from women who are trying to become pregnant with a certain gender. Occasionally, though I hear from men who are trying to help their wives or girlfriends with this process. I always actually find it quite touching that a guy would not only take the time to research this topic, but to reach out to a stranger to ensure that the woman he loves gets a good result.

I recently heard from a man who said: "my wife and I have started the process of trying to conceive. This will be our first child. How do I know if I'm producing X or Y sperm? I know that the X sperm produces girls and the Y produces boys. But I would prefer to be producing the X. Although boys seem to run in my family (my older brother has three boys,) my wife has her heart set on a girl baby, at least this first time around. Is there some test I can take to tell me what I'm producing? And, let's say that I find out that I am producing boys or Y sperm, what can I do to change this and get girl producing sperm only?"

I completely understood this man's question. Many men think that they produce one sperm chromosome over another. In fact, many assume that this is why a certain gender runs in their families. This man suspected that he produced Y or boy sperm since he had only brothers and his brother who had children also had boys. He was surprised to learn that the vast majority of men produce EQUAL amount of BOTH gender chromosomes. In other words, there was an overwhelmingly good chance that he was producing 50 percent X or girl producing semen and 50 percent Y or boy producing semen. Not only has this been tested in clinical studies, but it has been tested on men who had produced all of one gender (like this gentleman's brother.) And even in those cases, the scientist found equal ratios.

In this man's case, testing this would require a lab and expense and would very likely tell him that like the vast majority of men, he is producing sperm that would conceive both genders. So why were boys running in his family? There are a couple of possibilities. The first is simply chance. When you think about it, it's sort of like flipping a coin. Although the chances are relatively low that you would get heads on every flip, this is certainly possible. And it happens.

Here's another possibility. In actuality, the woman's body influences baby gender also. The timing of when you conceive and the PH of the woman's vagina can both affect gender. If the woman's vaginal and reproductive tract are alkaline, this favors boys, as was the case in this family. Late conception (as it relates to ovulation) as well as deep penetration all make boy babies a little more likely. It could be that any combination of these things were coming into play.

I was touched that this man wanted to help his wife conceive a girl, but my suggestion had more to do with his wife's body than with his. Since it was likely he was already producing sperm that would make either gender possible (and it's not possible to change these ratios,) the better bet would be to make sure his wife was acidic and that they attempted to conceive before ovulation. Both of these things were more likely to influence his baby's gender than the ratio of his sperm, which was most likely set at 50 / 50.

Want to know about things like PH, timing, and sexual positions as it relates to choosing your baby's gender.? Check out check out http://conceive-a-boy-baby.com/ for a boy baby and http://conceive-a-girl-baby.com/ if you want a girl baby.