Who would want to choose the gender of their offspring?

A very large number of people, it turns out. Over 50+ years this book has been in print, we have heard from all manner of people and from nearly every geographic region in the world—from bankers and plumbers, nurses and farmers, engineers and teachers, medical doctors and landscapers, from large cities all over and remote villages in faraway countries, from dwellers of high-rises, jungles, and even desert islands. We’ve heard from people in war zones and even from one couple who reported using the method during a volcanic eruption!

Do Even Princes Use the Shettles Method?

Occasionally we hear from people most of us would regard as rather “exotic.” Over the years, Dr. Shettles was consulted by several prominent people in the entertainment industry, including a couple of actresses who are household names, by Arab and Indian potentates, and by members of royal families. One gentleman, from a country that is either benighted or enlightened, depending on your point of view, had children with three different wives, using the Shettles method. What made this remarkable was the fact that he was married to all three at one time!

Often we hear from couples just planning their families or hoping to complete them with one more child of the “other” gender.

Dear Dr. Shettles:
I read and studied your book and . . . conceived using your method of obtaining a female. Happy to say, on August 7 my healthy daughter was born—much to the surprise of everyone on my husband’s side, since I have a two-year-old son, and no girls have ever been recorded on my husband’s side for many generations. Thank you for all your help.
Sincerely, J.J., Buffalo, N.Y.


Dear Dr. Shettles:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you of our experiences after reading your book. I am the proud father of three girls. For my fourth and final chance to have a little boy, my wife and I purchased a copy of your book. We followed it intensively and we had a beautiful healthy baby boy. We loaned your book to one of our friends, who is a prominent ophthalmologist. He happens to be the father of three boys. He also followed your book and voila! he fathered a baby daughter. You are batting 1000. Keep up the good work! Many thanks.
Very truly yours, M.C., Joplin, Mo.


Dear Mr. Rorvik:
Last Thursday I called Dr. Shettles to inform him of the birth of my second son on January 14, and he suggested that I write you a note and give you the information that my wife and I used his method of abstinence, baking-soda douche, and intercourse all on the day of ovulation in order to increase our chances of having a son. After we had three daughters in a row, my wife . . . talked with a researcher at the University of Michigan who informed her that Dr. Shettles was doing some work on selecting sex. ... In 1970 we took a trip to New York and met with Dr. Shettles and shortly thereafter we began using his method. Our first son was born in March of 1971. Then last week our second son was born. In looking back and reviewing in our minds the conception of our three daughters, it was easy to understand how the chances of their being girls . . . were greater.
Sincerely, Dr. M.V., Detroit, Mich.


Dear Mr. Rorvik:
We are very, very happy to have been successful in our attempt for a boy. . . our family is now complete! In an age where family size is necessarily limited, I believe this method can be successfully applied to help families attain the wanted ratio of boys and girls. Most people, I believe, want a child of each sex. I find nothing offensive about these methods and believe that they can definitely help to ensure that every child born is wanted and desired in every way. . . .
Mrs. J.B., Montreal, Quebec


Dear Dr. Shettles and Mr. Rorvik:
We are so happy we finally have our little girl. After having two boys words cannot describe what I felt when the doctor said, “It’s a girl!” I couldn’t believe it. All I could say was, “Really! I want to see! I want to see!” Everyone in the labor and delivery room knew that I had two boys and had tried your method. I think they were almost as anxious as we were to find out what it was going to be. When we did, there was hugging and kissing all over the place. I even remember kissing the anesthesiologist.
Mrs. K.C., Pomona, Calif.


Dear Dr. Shettles:
People laughed at my husband when he told them, practically from the day I conceived, that we had a girl. No one laughed louder than his father, who has seven sons and one daughter. We followed your book exactly, and I got pregnant with our first attempt. Our daughter is twelve days old . .. we’re thrilled with what we’ve accomplished. I wish all couples who are after a planned family could read your book. I also wish doctors would accept your research and be supportive . . . thank you again.
Mrs. H.D., Tucson, Ariz.


Dear Mr. Rorvik and Dr. Shettles:
Your book not only helped us get the son we wanted but also helped us get pregnant. We had been trying for three years without success, despite help from several doctors. Your book was so clear and helpful; it enabled us to understand the reproductive system better than anything any of the other doctors told us. We would have been happy with any baby but we’re doubly delighted that we got a son. We used your instructions for finding ovulation time and came in right on target. The combination of using the CM method and the BBT really helped.
Mrs. C.J., Fargo, N.D.


Dear Dr. Shettles and Mr. Rorvik:
Shortly after the birth of our second child, another boy, my mother handed me a magazine article about your sex-selection method. I was intrigued and promptly went out and purchased How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby. I also read Boy or Girl? by Elizabeth Whelan, Sc.D., and The Preconception Gender Diet by Sally Langendoen, R.N., and William Proctor. I concluded that the Shettles method made the most sense, especially when compared with my own personal experience. Both my boys were conceived very close to ovulation. I knew this because I used a natural family planning method of birth control that utilized BBT and CM observations to determine my fertile period and thereby avoid it. By the same token, when I decided to get pregnant I knew my best chances would be close to ovulation, so I was able to time it within 24 hours. I did this by having intercourse on the day that I had “peak” CM symptoms. Unknowingly, I was practicing the“boy method.” I decided to give the “girl method” a try. Here, too, the evidence was convincing. Some friends who had girls were able to confirm that they were conceived under the circumstances outlined in the method. I even predicted that a relatives boy would be a girl because it was a “surprise,” and indeed it was. After six long, and sometimes frustrating, months, I became pregnant. My cycle was irregular and hard to interpret at times. But persistence paid off, and . . . our daughter was born. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
D.S., Atlanta, Ga.


Dear Dr. Shettles:
After being told by two doctors that we could not conceive at all, because of my husbands low sperm count, we followed your advice for the boy and our son was born last month—healthy as can be. I had two daughters by a previous marriage, so everybody is happy. My husband would have been thrilled fathering a child of either sex, after believing so long that he was basically sterile, but having a boy to go with our two daughters has exceeded his wildest hopes.
Mrs. J.A., Monroe, La.


Dear Dr. Shettles:
I am writing this letter to express my deepest gratitude on the happiness that your book has bestowed on our family. I read an article in one of the parenting magazines, and it mentioned your book. I ran right out and bought a copy. We’d already had a son and, for financial reasons, did not feel we could have more than one more child. We wanted a girl to balance things out. We were aware that the possibility of a girl was lessened by the fact that my husband could not find a female in his father’s line for at least three generations. Earlier this year I delivered a beautiful baby girl. She is a miracle and is loved by her big brother. Our family feels so deliriously happy that I have recommended your book to many friends of ours. Thank you for the insights into the wonders of conception and for the wonderful result we obtained.
T.O., Reading, Pa.


Dear Dr. Shettles:
We want to thank you for our daughter, but, more than that, we want to thank you for having a healthy baby. We believe that your method enabled us not only to have the daughter we wanted but to get pregnant in the first place. After two miscarriages and no successful past pregnancies, I had about given up until I came across your book. Both my husband and I found it easy to understand and follow and very sensible.
Mrs. L.V., Amman, Jordan


Dear Dr. Shettles and Mr. Rorvik:
Thanks for writing a terrific book. It didn’t work for us, but, looking back, we can see where we failed to time ovulation correctly on the critical try. We just got impatient and jumped the gun. We still recommend your book to all our friends, as two of my sisters—of the more methodical type—have used it successfully.
Mrs. B.P., Albany, N.Y.