Dr. Jonas Method for Gender Selection

Gender Selection

• For some couples, gender selection is desired when genetic traits in their family history are passed down to one sex over the other. Gender selection allows them to lower the possibility of passing it on. There are different ways to go about this selection, including the Shettles Method, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, microsorting and the Jonas Method.

The Dr. Jonas Method

• Also known as the Lunar Method, in the 1950s, gynecologist Dr. Eugen Jonas discovered that a woman can have a girl or a boy by having intercourse under specific times in the fertility cycle. The time of month best to conceive a boy over a girl, and vice versa, is individualized for each woman. The phase of the moon at the time of the woman's birth determines when she will be fertile for the rest of her life. If she was born under a full moon, for instance, she will be fertile under a full moon. The astrological sign at the time of conception results in the gender of the child. Once you determine which days are best for conceiving, and which days in a given month are best for conceiving the gender of choice, you must have intercourse the three days preceding the chosen days for conception.

The Lunar Method

• Jonas studied the Babylonian saying, "Woman is only fertile during a certain phase of the moon." With this quote and his background in astrology and studies on thousands of women he observed through gynecology, he determined that women are fertile at the same phase of the moon under which they were born. Plus, he figured out Yin and Yang phases of the fertility cycle, which relate to the twelve signs of the Zodiac. If conception occurs on the moon's Yin time, a girl is conceived, whereas Yang produces boys. The rat (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.), the tiger (3 a.m. to 5 a.m.), the dragon (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.), the snake (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.), the horse (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), the goat (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) and the rooster (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) are Yang. The ox (1 a.m. to 3 a.m.), the rabbit (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.), the monkey (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.), the dog (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and the pig (9 p.m. to 11 p.m.) are Yin.

Moral Quandary

• For religious persons who have moral issues with gender selection and in vitro fertilization, Jonas's method was seemingly meant for them. Jonas was a Roman Catholic who was upset over Hungary legalizing abortion. He also saw the women he treated having unwanted pregnancies due to using the Rhythm Method of intercourse, instead of using contraception. His method would allow for women to figure out when to have sex to avoid pregnancy, but also how to have sex to have a specific sex of offspring.

Effectiveness

• According to the 1970 Pearl Index, which is the technique used to report birth control effectiveness, the effectiveness of the Jonas Method is 97.7 percent. The method boasts the ability to pinpoint the time of month best for conceiving boys vs. girls, not only for one pregnancy, but for two consecutive pregnancies, if not more.

Downfall

• There are also biological factors that influence the gender of a baby, such as the pH of cervical mucus. If there is high acidity, Y-chromosomal sperm (male) become immobilized. On the other hand, if the mucus has a high alkaline content, the X-chromosomal sperm (female) have less chance of surviving. A high testosterone level in the man will also cause fewer female sperm to survive. This being the case, the Jonas Method could fail if these factors come into play.