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  1. #1
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    the seasons and swaying

    Update 12-31-17 Unfortunately many of the links to studies are no longer working but I read all of them and have deleted the broken links. The data is real, the studies were done, it's just that the links are not working any more.

    The idea that males are more fragile than females and therefore more of them are conceived because more are lost, is at the root of much of gender swaying. 140-160 males are conceived for every 100 females, falling to 106 boys born for every 100 girls.

    Scientists have known for some time that rates of conception of children of BOTH genders seem to vary by season and that this phenomenon varies depending on location. Changes in the seasonal distribution of births in Görlitz, Germany, during the period between 1657 and 1816. - PubMed - NCBI Previous studies have indicated that in Western Europe, October is the easiest month for conceiving, and April is the most difficult. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense because babies conceived in the fall months are born in summertime when the livin' is easy, whereas babies conceived in spring are born in the darkest months of winter and in the native environment were probably less likely to survive. For the good of the species, some mechanism that encourages more babies to be born when food is plentiful and they have a greater chance of survival, has apparently evolved at some point.

    Dr. Angelo Cagnacci, an Italian researcher at the Policlinico of Modena (and his research team) set out to investigate this phenomenon and discovered something really amazing. In a study of over 14,000 births, in the Modena, Italy area, not only were conception rates lowest in March-May and highest from Sept.-November as previous research had indicated, but the gender ratio shifted during those periods as well.

    More girls were conceived in the low-conception months of March-May, peaking in April (the ratio was 487 boys to 513 girls) More boys were conceived in the high-conception months of Sept-Nov, peaking in October. (535 boys and 465 girls). Keeping in mind that virtually everything that reduces fertility seems to sway pink and virtually everything that increases fertility seems to sway blue, it would appear that there is some sort of natural seasonal variation in fertility that also acts to sway in some fashion.

    Why, then, are any boys born in the wintertime at all? Imagine if you will, a sort of continuum of fertility. All of us fall somewhere along this continuum, some of us more fertile and some of us less fertile; some get pregnant just by walking past their husand in the hallway and others have to try for many months in order to conceive and then everyone else falls somewhere in between. Highly fertile couples can probably conceive a baby boy to be born in wintertime with no problem at all, whereas less fertile couples may only be able to conceive a boy to be born in summertime (of course there are SO MANY variables at play that this would just be an overall tendency and obviously there would be MANY exceptions, this description is just meant to help envision what the real-world applications of such a mechanism might be)

    Using this information in swaying is a bit tricky, because the evidence indicates that where you live on Planet Earth affects this phenomenon. For reasons that we do not yet comprehend, more girls than would be statistically expected are born at the equator, and more boys at northern latitudes. Mother Nature seems to "time" conceptions in parts of the world that experience winter, so more male babies will be born in optimal conditions. If you live around the equator, this information may not apply to you.

    Anyway, according to Cagnacci, the best conditions for conceiving a baby of ANY gender (and therefore, a boy) are a day length of 12 hours and an average temperature of 12°C. Maximum conception rates take place at opposite times in regions on either side of the equator. In the Southern Hemisphere (even though this has not been studied) it is predicted that the opposite trend would be true. Fewer babies (but more girls) should be conceived in Sept-November in the Southern Hemisphere, and more babies (and more boys) in March-May.

    (BTW this is NOT what is predicted by the ion theory that is part of traditional swaying lore. The ion theory claims that winter conceptions should = more boys and summer conceptions should = more girls, and that spring and fall are neutral.)

    Why might this be? Babies conceived Sept - Nov. will be born in the summer months when the climate is pleasant and food abundant, and babies that are conceived March - May will be born Dec-Feb, when temps are coldest and food is scarcest. Baby boys need more calories than baby girls throughout pregnancy and after birth, and in fact throughout LIFE. http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7401/1245.full.pdf (higher caloric needs during boy pregnancy) How Many Calories Does Your Child Need? (males have higher caloric needs throughout infancy and childhood)

    As an example, the estimated average requirement for baby boys for their first 6 months of life is 545-690 calories per day, whereas baby girls require less, on average 515-645 kcal per day. It is not hard to imagine that it is easier for mothers to provide more nutrition via breastfeeding, to baby boys during times when food is ample - on a personal note, I often find I cannot even produce enough breastmilk without drinking three Dr. Peppers a day (at 150 calories a pop) in addition to eating a balanced diet, so it makes a lot of sense to me on a gut level that such a mechanism might evolve over millions of years. It's not only in the first few months that those early calories matter - if a baby boy is chronically undernourished during his first few months of life, even if he survives infancy he may be at a disadvantage for the rest of his life, and therefore be less likely to survive and reproduce.

    Also, there may be another strange mechanism at play. Three studies I have found Ambient temperature predicts sex ratios and male longevity (here is a longer version of that same study http://precedings.nature.com/documen...20093915-1.pdf), http://www.springerlink.com/content/5n7u45gmlqwpc88x/ (abstract only), and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16840640 (somehow I have the full text of this article in my files but I can only find the abstract now, sorry!) both seem to indicate that cold temperatures at time of conception and in early pregnancy seem to mean more females conceived/born and warmer temperatures, even only just one degree warmer, raised the odds that a male would be conceived/born.

    (Again, this completely flies in the face of the ion theory. According to the ion theory, boys "like" cold things and girls "like" warm things.)

    However, this is confuddling because of the study that found more girls were born in tropical latitudes. I ~personally~ believe that this may have more to do with other factors such as diet and cultural issues - in fact, according to one study, Africa overall had more girls than would be statistically expected, even the nations that are far from the equator such (such as South Africa - sex ratio of 102 boys for 100 girls) and some equatorial nations had exactly as many boys as would be statistically expected (Nigeria 106 boys for 100 girls). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s_by_sex_ratio
    Last edited by atomic sagebrush; December 31st, 2017 at 12:09 PM.
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  3. #2
    Big Dreamer

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    Wow Atomic, thanks for this info. I previously only knew of the ion theory, but this makes greater sense to me and the conceptions of both my son and daughter fit this theory.




    brand new. Successful girl sway. Thankyou so very much Atomic for all your wonderful advice.

  4. #3
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    Going to read this tonight, thankyou Atomic!
    Fathers Day baby!


    Busy Mummy of 5 now working from home: www.oz.scentsy.com.au

  5. #4
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    This is really interesting! Thanks for the info.

  6. #5
    Coccinelle33
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    all of my boys were conceived under a full moon and in the spring or summer and my daughter was under a new moon and in the fall.

  7. #6
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    This is very interesting Atomic! You are so incredibly dedicated to pouring through these studies and distilling them for us

    My girls were a March and early Sept. conception... first girl was in March, and I was not well-nourishing. Based on sway theory I completely understand why I got a girl. Little more perplexed on the baby girl I'm incubating right now - a late summer conception and I *was* well nourished... but I was also losing weight and eating pretty low-carb. I think that probably swayed girl (and I also think DH really wanting a girl had something to do with it, hah!)

    My boys were October and Feb conceptions - two October conceptions and two summer boys! I was extremely well-nourished with all three conceptions, getting tons of protein and moderate carbs with all. I also took boy supps for the the Feb boy. I think they all make sense from a swaying perspective.

    In light of the study above, my Feb boy is a little odd, but like I said I was super-well nourished and taking boy supps. I am also a fertile gal He was born at the end of Oct, too - just after the height of the fall harvest in Northern MI, and at the beginning of the slaughter season for local beef/bison... so it's a good time to be born here

    I am going back to my proven boy diet from here out, but I think when we conceive will be when I get fertile again nursing this upcoming babe... DH doesn't want to do any "planning" this time around since I was rather childish about having my careful TTC plans ruined LOL.
    Wife to a sweetie DH & Mama to:
    C, 13yo ; A, 11yo ; B, 9yo ; G, 6yo - successful blue sway; H, 3yo - sweet surprise!; C, 2yo - successful blue sway!, S - newbie!

    Thank you GD!!

  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mommy*duke View Post
    all of my boys were conceived under a full moon and in the spring or summer and my daughter was under a new moon and in the fall.
    Yes, I have two December boys myself. The numbers indicate that it is still very possible to conceive boys and girls regardless of season..."More girls were conceived in the low-conception months of March-May, peaking in April (the ratio was 487 boys to 513 girls) More boys were conceived in the high-conception months of Sept-Nov, peaking in October. (535 boys and 465 girls)." but the overall trend is interesting.
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  9. #8
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    Quote Originally Posted by skrimpy View Post
    This is very interesting Atomic! You are so incredibly dedicated to pouring through these studies and distilling them for us

    My girls were a March and early Sept. conception... first girl was in March, and I was not well-nourishing. Based on sway theory I completely understand why I got a girl. Little more perplexed on the baby girl I'm incubating right now - a late summer conception and I *was* well nourished... but I was also losing weight and eating pretty low-carb. I think that probably swayed girl (and I also think DH really wanting a girl had something to do with it, hah!)

    My boys were October and Feb conceptions - two October conceptions and two summer boys! I was extremely well-nourished with all three conceptions, getting tons of protein and moderate carbs with all. I also took boy supps for the the Feb boy. I think they all make sense from a swaying perspective.

    In light of the study above, my Feb boy is a little odd, but like I said I was super-well nourished and taking boy supps. I am also a fertile gal He was born at the end of Oct, too - just after the height of the fall harvest in Northern MI, and at the beginning of the slaughter season for local beef/bison... so it's a good time to be born here

    I am going back to my proven boy diet from here out, but I think when we conceive will be when I get fertile again nursing this upcoming babe... DH doesn't want to do any "planning" this time around since I was rather childish about having my careful TTC plans ruined LOL.
    My first and third boys I was eating really boy friendly, doing moderate exercise, and gaining weight, and so it makes total sense to me that they are boys, even though my first son is a December baby and my third is a March baby and are therefore exceptions to the "rule".

    My second son I have never quite understood why he was a boy. I had the least stress, I had lost weight recently (even though I was holding steady at one weight when I conceived him) and I was eating a girl friendly diet. But he was born in May, my only non-winter baby so this theory helps me to understand why my body might have thought a boy was a better bet at that point. I was also doing moderate exercise.

    I still have no explanation for my "failed sway" baby (born in December). Yes, I did get pg in the month I was on a swaying break but still I wasn't eating that differently than I had been, the seasons were with me, I had recently lost like 20 lbs, taking tons of calcium/magnesium and vitex and my pH was 4.5...the one thing I was really doing "wrong" was getting into tons of arguments on IG. I think that may be enough to ruin a sway!

    ETA - there were a TON of baby girls born in my December birth group with DS 4. Even the girls who didn't sway.
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  11. #9
    Dream Vet
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    This is very interesting and I was really intriqued with it while planning for my sway. I think it kind of conflicts with the ion theory but at the same time, can make it works for us. The best time to conceive a girl (IMPO) is in the springtime starting from March 21st through May... (but even ttc'ing end of Feb. isn't "that" bad, in my opinion...I remember a study I read saying that Feb. and March were good girl conception months). According to the ion theory, March-May would slightly sway for girl, and according to the italian theory it would highly sway for girl. Most women increase - ions like crazy anyway (not that hard to do, just takes some planning). So combine with with ttc'ing from March-May, I think you get the best of both worlds and makes a fabulous girl sway. And if it is taking you a bit longer to ttc it's ok, because the summer time sways for a girl anyway, so it's not like it's going to hurt your sway. Just my two cents!
    = One little prince! (2008) and
    Two little princesses (2010) (2013) successful girl sways


    (my chart) http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/234f4a

  12. #10
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    Yes, if you believe in ions then by all means, increase your supply of negative ions. But don't rely on the seasons or temperature to do it for you!!

    FWIW I am not convinced that summer sways pink. I suspect that there is a wax and wane cycle where girl conceptions peak in April and then gradually decline while boy conceptions gradually increase to peak in October and then vice versa (and this may only be true for the parts of the world that have similar day lenghts to Italy, where this study was done). So TTC in August if you want a girl may not be what you would want to do, you may decide that you will pull out all the stops in June instead in order to be closer to the "girl peak" and further from the "boy peak" if that makes any sense.
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