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When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Conception

trying for a girl, is it true you shouldn't have sex too close to ov?

27 replies

Gemzooks · 09/06/2008 13:56

has anyone actually got pregnant having sex well before ovulation? I'm a bit sceptical, does the sperm really hang around in there for long enough to fertilise? any experiences welcome. Done it on day 11, think I usually ov on day 13-14, holding off doing it again as would like a girl (have 1 DS)...

OP posts:
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sleepycat · 09/06/2008 14:01

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solo · 09/06/2008 14:04

Yes! that's how I got my Dd, even though she was unexpected.iyswim?
Check on the net too. There are some vag douches that apparently make the ph just right for conceiving girls...

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cece · 09/06/2008 14:05

Think it is called the shettles method. Might want to google it!

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sleepycat · 09/06/2008 14:10

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SydneyB · 09/06/2008 14:14

I am pg with my 2nd and we know it's a boy. Already have one DD. I was interested to see if we'd had sex at a different time this time around and actually keep my old diaries where I used to obsessively but in ov days and having sex days and this time around I know it was at the exact same time of month as last time around. i.e. about 3/4 days before ov and yet we're having a boy this time around. Think its a load of old guff myself. 50/50 chance either way. That's it.

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greenday · 09/06/2008 14:16

i was told men who swim regularly tend to have daughters. Apparently, some statistics showed that most swimmers and surfers have DDs. So get your DH swimming now!

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sleepycat · 09/06/2008 14:16

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greenday · 09/06/2008 14:21

Oops! This was told to me by a friend who swims everyday at lunch break and has 2 daughters. I guess it's all individual then.

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sleepycat · 09/06/2008 14:22

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sorkycake · 09/06/2008 14:29

The theory is don't have sex later than 2 days before O for a girl. So say you expect to O on Friday, you wouldn't have sex past Wednesday say.

For boys the day before or day of expected O.

Thing is, not everyone is as regular with O so it's not reliable.

AND having sex further away from expected O is less likely to result in conception at all.

For sperm to survive for up to 5 days there must be very good quality ewcm AND good sperm.

If there is any doubt over either persons fertility I wouldn't advise it.

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slinkiemalinki · 09/06/2008 17:06

Get the Hazel Chesterman Philips book if you are dedicated - it explains to take your temp and plot for a few cycles before starting 5 days before, then 4, then 3... girls are hard work and have read others for whom it hasn't worked!
Other tips are tighty whities (no boxers), warm baths etc - but these do decrease overall fertility so can take longer to conceive overall no matter what you get.

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Gemzooks · 09/06/2008 18:01

ok, thanks! Just wondering whether to go for it again on day 13.. too lazy to be honest! ;)

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fawkeoff · 09/06/2008 18:03

is it not all to do with what swimmer gets there the quickest?????
or am i just being a party pooper????

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lulumama · 09/06/2008 18:07

i am sure these methods are useful for some and do work in some cases, but there is no way of knowing if that couple would have conceived a boy or girl anyway

i have conceived a DS and a DD at teh same time in my cycle, day 13 , and i have always had a 28 day cycle

also what about fraternal twins where one is male and one is female?

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CoteDAzur · 09/06/2008 18:09

DD was conceived on 11th day of a 30 day cycle.

So yes, that was at least 3 days before ovulation. I didn't think it was possible

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lulumama · 09/06/2008 18:10

sperm can live up to 7 days , at a push...

anything seems to be possible ! a fair few MN babies were day 8 conceptions.. i have a friend who conceived day 42 ?!

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solo · 09/06/2008 22:07

CoteDAzur, When you say you conceived on day 11, do you know for sure that you did?(don't mean that as it sounds)It's just that I've heard RL friends say that they have conceived on day 10, when what they really meant was that they had sex on day A, but when it was worked out, they had actually conceived on day 14.

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LuckySalem · 09/06/2008 22:09

I don't know when DD was conceived but I've heard that male sperm are quicker but die quicker too, female sperm take longer to get there but are more resilient. So by that i'd say you need to leave enough time for the male sperm to die but not too much that the females do too.

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jollyjolly · 09/06/2008 23:06

apparently sperm live for upto 72 hours in our bodies, so i would recommend trying every 2-3 days during OV. don't believe it makes a difference to whether you get a boy or girl, surely that is defined by the chromosomes?

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SquiffyHock · 09/06/2008 23:12

I followed that theory and got a DD!! If you have a 24 day cycle so (in theory) ovulation is at day 12 - for a girl have sex on days 7,8,9 maybe 10 then stop - for a boy don't start until day 12 then go at it!!! (sorry)

I also happen to know that I conceived DS very late in my cycle (DH had been away) although we weren't trying for a specific sex.

I got my info from a friend who has 3 which she claims she chose the sex of. 1 friend due next week so I'll let you know...

Codswallop? Maybe, but no harm trying

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SquiffyHock · 09/06/2008 23:13

Don't know why I worked that out on a 24 day cycle but you get the jist!

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solo · 10/06/2008 00:25

Sperm live up to 7 days in a womans body is the latest study...

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CoteDAzur · 10/06/2008 09:55

solo - Yes, that's what I mean. We had sex on day 11 of a 30 day cycle. Sperm must have waited there for 3-4 days until ovulation. And the actual conception (sperm + egg) would happen upon ovulation, which must have been on day 14 or 15 (I am guessing here).

That was OP's question - how far before ovulation can you have sex and still get pregnant.

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WinkyWinkola · 10/06/2008 10:02

Well, I tried for a girl and got DD. We stopped having sex on day 11.

Who knows whether it works but as someone said, worth a shot? But I reckon it's best to keep an open mind because there must be myriad factors at play here.

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ScaryHairy · 10/06/2008 10:40

I think it is sort of a statistical blip.

You might be more likely to have a girl if you have sex a few days before ov, but that doesn't mean that you will.

I also read a study a couple of years ago which suggested that women who have less sex are more likely to have girls. This is apparently because the body goes into species survival mode; less men means we need to produce more women for them to impregnate.

And now there's the study which says that women who eat fortified breakfast cereals are more likely to have boys...

The other factor is that while it is all very well to try to time sex with ovulation, there is a process called capacitation which sperm have to go through in order to become capable of penetrating the egg. They have to be in the reproductive tract for hours before this takes place, as I understand it.

I have read that sperm can live up to 7 days in the reproductive tract, although I have also read that after about 4 or 5 days they are likely to be useless. And unless you have fertile quality CM they are unlikely to survive very long at all.

So yes, a myriad of factors at play.

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