I often hear from people who want to know if family history plays a role in the sex of their baby. For example, I might hear a woman tell me something like, “I’m one of five girls. There weren’t any boys in my family. So does this mean I’m definitely going to have a girl, too?” (The answer to this question is no, but I find it very interesting that very few people consider how the father-to-be and her own family could play a role.)

Or, I might have a mom-to-be ask me something like, “My husband’s family is made up of all boys. Does this mean my chances of having a girl aren’t good?” Like the previous scenario, this question does not take into account the family of the baby’s mother. (And the answer is also no).

In reality, both the mother and the father-to-be will contribute to the sex or gender of their baby. And frankly, these are the only two people who will really contribute to the outcome. Extended family members play a small role (if any) in this scenario. I will discuss more about this matter in the next article.

The parents of the baby in question determine the sex or gender of that baby. The baby’s grandparents do not: I understand that if you are part of a family of one gender over the other, then it is very tempting to assume that boy or girl babies just run in your family. Many people tell me that they think there are just some unknown genetic factors that go into determining the sex of the baby. But, let’s put this assumption aside for just a second and try to see it from a scientific point of view.

In a nutshell, this is how the sex of a baby is determined. If the baby’s chromosomes are XY, then that baby will be a boy. If the baby’s chromosomes are XX, then that baby will be a girl. The expectant mother will always give an X to this equation. So who is left to contribute? Yes, now the father must contribute a Y or an X. And studies have indicated that even men who have a certain gender in their family have the same number of sperm X and Y chromosomes.

So when the couple in question has sex at or around the woman’s ovulation period, the man’s sperm will work to fertilize her egg. These little sperm (and both X’s and Y’s are represented here) will race to the egg and only one will be the one to fertilize it. So, the chromosome that completes the mission first is what determines the sex of the baby.

But this is really just the end of a story that has more variables. Look, we know that men contribute similar amounts of X and Y. And we know that women are limited to one X. So it might seem like this is a game of chance, but that’s not entirely accurate either. As the sperm make their way to the egg, they will face many challenges. And these challenges can, believe it or not, affect the outcome and can help determine the gender or sex of your baby.

Also, the boy and girl who produce sperm have different attributes and have different strengths and weaknesses. Girls can survive for a much longer period of time and can outlast boys even in harsh conditions. Also, children live only for a short period of time and are vulnerable in an acidic environment. But, to balance this out, the Y’s are the faster of the two.

And this is where women come into play. If she has intercourse early in her fertility cycle and combines it with an acidic reproductive tract, then she has a better chance of conceiving a girl. But, if she has intercourse at the end of her fertility cycle and she has an alkaline reproductive tract, then she has a better chance of having a boy. Sometimes when women tell me that their family never produces one gender over another, I suspect this may have to do with the PH levels of the women in the family. Some women even tell me that they have tested some women in their family and found that the PH levels are very similar.

This is a moot point, but you can easily verify this yourself by testing your own PH and see if this appears to be true for you. For example, if the women in your family always seem to have girls, I suspect you’ll tend to be more acidic. If the females in your family always seem to have baby boys, I suspect you might be alkaline.

The good news is that if you don’t want the gender that runs in your family, you can make some changes to your diet and conception regimen to change this. AP is only one factor in gender selection, but it’s an important one, especially if you think a gender seems to come from your family and you want to outgrow it.