Is your chance of choosing the sex of your baby really going up in smoke?

Is your chance of choosing the sex of your baby really going up in smoke? If you light up after sex you might want to think again! Recent reports suggest that smoking can not only affect your fertility, but can also affect the sex of your child.

Is your chance of choosing the sex of your baby really going up in smoke?

If you light up after sex you might want to think again!

South Wales - April 19, 2002 - Recent reports suggest that smoking can not only affect your fertility, but can also affect the sex of your child.

A Report on Reuters (www.reuters.co.uk) By Patricia Reaney on 19th April 2002 says that new research reported by Japanese and Danish scientists in The Lancet medical journal on Friday showed that couples who smoked around the time their child was conceived were less likely to have a son.

Byskov and Dr Misao Fukuda of the Fukuda Ladies Clinic in Hyogo, Japan, who conducted the study, are not sure why smokers produce fewer boys.

But they suspect that sperm carrying the Y chromosome for male children may be more susceptible than sperm with the female-forming X chromosome to the effects of tobacco which could make it less likely to fertilise the woman's egg. Y chromosome sperm are much smaller and more fragile then X chromosome sperm.

Smoking is also known to interfere with the absorption of vitamins and minerals.

In her book Natural Solutions to Infertility, Dr Glenville states that Studies have established that Vitamin C enhances sperm quality. As a powerful antioxident it can protect the sperm and its DNA against damage" A reduction in vitamin C causes sperm to clump together. Once clumped together the sperm will not be able to easily swim towards the waiting egg.

Other toxins will also stop the utilisation of other important minerals. Cadmium for example will inhibit the take up of zinc another important mineral for male sperm production. But it is not only the quality and shape of the sperm, but the quantity, (20 million per ml) which influences the ability to conceive.

The lack of zinc also plays a major part in female fertility. Dr Glenville states that Zinc is the most widely studied nutrient in terms of fertility for both men and women. It is an essential component of genetic material, and a zinc deficiency can cause chromosome changes in either the man or the women, leading to reduced fertility and increased risk of miscarriage."
Tobacco belongs to the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.

According to ASH (www.ash.org.uk) Tobacco smoke is made up of sidestream smoke" from the burning tip of the cigarette and mainstream smoke" from the filter or mouth end. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of different chemicals which are released into the air as particles and gases. Many toxins are present in higher concentrations in sidestream smoke than in mainstream smoke and, typically, nearly 85% of the smoke in a room results from sidestream smoke. The particulate phase includes nicotine, "tar" (itself composed of many chemicals), benzene and benzo(a)pyrene. The gas phase includes carbon monoxide, ammonia, dimethylnitrosamine, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and acrolein."

The report goes on to suggest that this is one possible reason for the decline in the ratio of baby boys to girls. Another possible reason is that people are simply not aware of their fertility and not timing intercourse correctly.
In his book How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby, Dr Shettles, M.D.,Ph.D claims to have developed a scientific method of determining the sex of your baby, which has about a 75% success rate for girls and an 80% success rate for boys . The methodology is to simply have intercourse as close to ovulation as possible for a boy. And as far away as possible for a girl while still in your fertile period.

To better understand how to achieve pregnancy and possibly the baby of the 'right sex you really need to be aware of your fertility.

According to Toni Weschler, MPH, renowned fertility expert, and author of the best-selling book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Fertility Awareness is the charting of cervical fluid and waking temperature. This can be done either manually, or, more simply, by using an FDA-approved fertility software like TCOYF from Real Life Solutions. Charting helps couples verify that there are no obstacles to pregnancy that can be clearly identified, including anovulation, lack of fertile-quality cervical fluid and the risk of miscarriages due to low progesterone," said Weschler. If charting reveals nothing wrong, yet couples continue have to have trouble conceiving, most doctors advise that the man should get a semen analysis. If the count is normal, then the next step is to seek fertility counseling."

About the Shettles method her book says The primary evidence on which Shettles bases his method is that male sperm generally beat female sperm when put through a race course of alkaline fertile quality cervical fluid in laboratory containers. Sperm also retrieved from the womans reproductive tract also confirm that male sperm are faster, but that female sperm are more resilient."

The average time to conceive for normally fertile couples is 6 months. Doctors begin infertility diagnosis when a couple has tried unsuccessfully to conceive for 12 months without using contraceptives. By monitoring her fertility signs, a woman can decrease the average time it takes to achieve pregnancy to less than 3 months. TCOYF software automates the process, so that when a couple decides to try to have a child, they are better able to expedite the process or become aware of potential fertility issues more quickly.

How TCOYF software works
TCOYF puts couples in charge by providing the tools for pregnancy achievement without the use of drugs or hormones. By simply taking her daily waking temperature (basal body temperature) and checking her cervical fluid, a woman can use TCOYF software to determine her short window of fertility during which she can conceive.

In addition, the results of other fertility products, such as BabyStart Home Fertility Test kit for couples, (comprising a ovulation test kit for her and a home sperm count test for him) can be incorporated into the TCOYF analysis. The programs Fertility Advisor" feature tells a woman, in plain language, exactly what is happening in her body each day of her cycle and advises her on what she should be doing to monitor her fertility. And in this way you can let nature takes its course or try to select the sex of your baby.

The software and tests are available on line at www.reallifesolutions.co.uk or by calling 01656 658499

US Surgeon General. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Chronic obstructive lung disease. USGPO, 1984
Dr Shettles M.D Ph.D Choosing the sex of your baby. P75