Understanding O+12

If you have your heart set on having a girl, then the O+12 method may be your ticket to a beautiful little princess. This method was developed by an Australian woman, who after trying to have a girl using the Shettles method, gave birth to six boys (yikes!) While the Shettles method advises timing intercourse for just prior to or after ovulation, O+12 advises having intercourse a full 12 hours after ovulation. To clarify, intercourse does not occur until 12 hours after ovulation has finished.

The Story

Kynzi, the woman who cemented the O+12 method, had 6 sons. Five of those sons were conceived using the Shettles Method for girls. After being told by a nurse that the Shettles Method has a less than 50% success rate, she decided to do some research. She found a New Zealand Study that tracked the sex of offspring in relation to the timing of intercourse, and how it met up with the couple’s expectation of what sex they were conceiving.

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Although only 33 of the 185 participants actually completed the studies, all couples (save one) who had intercourse on the day they ovulated, gave birth to girls. A follow-up study showed the same results.

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The Outcome

Kynzi, after having many years of practice tracking her ovulation cycle tried the O+12 method and got pregnant with a girl on her first try. 41 other women tried the same method shortly afterwards and 37 had girls – a 90% success rate.

Factors

In order to increase her chances of success, Kynzi had her husband refrain from ejaculating for her entire cycle leading up to “the day”. While this may not work for everyone, a 7-day sacrifice can certainly increase the amount of girl sperm in the semen.

{ MORE: Scientists Have a New Way to Predict Whether You'll Have a Boy or Girl }

Secondly, you need to be able to accurately track your cycle. The study used three indicators – basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and the leutinizing hormone (LH) surge. The women with the most success in conceiving babies had intercourse 32 hours after their LH surge was detected, 1 day before peak cervical mucus, and the day before a change in basal body temperature. Today’s OPK kits can help with detecting LH surge and give you more accurate results.

So, if your heart is set on a girl, perhaps the O+12 method can help.