I sometimes hear from people who are trying to figure out various things that might influence the gender of their baby when they are trying to conceive or become pregnant. One of the variables that I am sometimes asked is if the timing or regularity of the woman’s period has anything to do with her baby’s gender.
An example of the type of comment that I might hear is something like: “is my baby’s gender going to be determined by my menstrual period? I have very erratic periods and they sometimes come late in the month. What gender would I get if my periods are irregular, late, or erratic?”
Honestly, your periods allow you a reference by which to attempt to time your conception. But, your periods don’t have as much to do with the process as people might think. You might already know much of the information that I’m going to tell you. But in case you don’t, here’s a simple explanation. A woman can become pregnant during her ovulation period when an egg is released and ready to be fertilized. If a man’s sperm is successful in fertilizing that egg, pregnancy occurs. If it is an X chromosome in that sperm that fertilizes the egg, you get a girl baby. If it is a Y chromosome, you get a boy baby. This process generally happens once per month. And, then you are unable to get pregnant during the rest of the time when you are not ovulating.
Now, notice that no where in that last paragraph was your period mentioned. Your menstrual period generally happens when no conception occurred and no sperm fertilized the egg. Because there is no pregnancy, your body doesn’t need the thick lining in the uterus and so it sheds it, and that is what you see when you have your period. But, this cycle begins again. For women who have regular cycles, it generally happens monthly. If your periods are irregular, it might happen less.
But your period is merely a signal that the ovulation cycle is done for that session and that, hopefully at some point, a new one will begin. It generally tells you that the ovulation cycle for that period of time is over. And that has nothing to do with your baby’s gender.
Sometimes, the confusion here comes from the fact that people confuse their menstrual period with their ovulation period. Because, whether you conceive before or after ovulation has occurred can influence your baby’s sex or gender. Baby girls are more likely if conception occurs before ovulation and baby boys are more likely after it.
In terms of your period, timing your conception around your ovulation period can be more tricky if your periods are irregular. But frankly, most specialists will tell you that using your period to gauge ovulation isn’t the greatest method anyway. Women’s ovulation times can vary from month to month and from woman to woman. This is just my opinion, but I feel that you are much better off using an ovulation predictor anyway. That way, you are not dependent on your period for your timing, especially if it is irregular.
If you want a boy baby, this process is a bit easier. You’d want to have intercourse once you got a positive reading with the predictor. If your preference is a girl baby, you’d need an ovulation predictor that can give you a positive before ovulation actually happens. I like the saliva predictors for this purpose.
I’d suggest not even bringing your period into the equation. If it is irregular, it might confuse things. Just get a reusable predictor and test yourself on a daily basis. That way, you know for sure when you can become pregnant. And you know when is the optimal time for the gender that you prefer. But to answer the question posed, a woman’s menstrual period generally tells her when her ovulation cycle from the proceeding month is over. And this doesn’t affect her baby’s gender. But when she conceives the next month might have a profound effect.
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