Baby Boy or Baby Girl?

Since the beginning of the Chinese civilisation patriarchy has been the issue of the day. Every Chinese man would like to have a male offspring. It was common place to hear of Chinese marriages being terminated because of lack of male offsprings and all the blame would go to the female womb which was not "strong enough" to fight for the mother!! Indeed many  mothers throughout the history of the Chinese even committed suicide when no son was born after giving birth to 10 or more daughters!! And obviously female infanticide was most rampant in the 19th century from the documentation found in the archives.But the other side of coin if we look deeply many of these "unwanted females" fought and did more for the society  than the males!!Such is my Chinese background.

After I have given birth to THREE girls in the 70's and 80's...neighbours and relatives came around to give me plenty of advice.

Here are some :
An aunt who had many boys told me to eat more vegetables than meat to conceive a boy.

Then the usual belief that you need to conceive in the middle of the ovulation period to guarrantee a boy seem to be the most popular. Well that is good for people who have regular periods and can count well.

One man friend even asked me to put a huge axe underneath my bed which would guarrantee a male offspring.

A friend told me to wash with a special combination of leaves to wash away the "female spirits" from my body...

Another friend advised me to go for a special "drainage of the uterus" to take out all the wrong acids and alkalis and have a clean uterus for the next conception. (I did not dare!)

But I did enjoy all the herbs friends provided...Life was so good trying out all those herbal treats!! (Not treatments LOL)

Then came the fad of Feng Shui and all sorts of ideas circulated around but for a very big fee!!

Furthermore as I looked into all these options I also realise that Sarawak with its multi racial background there were other kinds of advice and theories . But I am glad that most of my friends were really caring enough to help me "get a boy".

However the following recount may not prove anything. But it was the desperate measure I took in order to conceive..and hope for a boy. I already had three girls and was quite happy with myself being the modern and educated woman I was.But again I was doubtful...what if I had another girl?

But neighbours and colleagues had started to cluck their tongues and continued to try their best to "educate" me in having a boy.

Apart from praying every day for a son I did follow this chart..or was it coincidence?

/a


Throughout the pregnancy I did not go for a scan to check whether it was a boy or girl as I did not want to be disappointed. I allowed nature to take its course...I just waited for the delivery and it was to be in the Lau King Howe Hospital because it was going to be difficult as I experienced foetal distress quite early. I had pre-eclyampsia almost from the beginning.


This chart is derived from some Ancient Chinese research. You need to read the upper horizontal (umur) column which states your age. The month is on the left vertical column and you can read all the Ps and Ls in the other columns below the age..that will guide you on  sex of the baby. So should you want to conceive a  boy at age 31 you should try in March.P is for perempuan or baby girl. L is for Lelaki or baby boy.


 Now I am not sure if you should be following the Chinese Age only. But according to the chart I conceived my fourth child when I was .36 in May and the baby was born a boy!! My first baby was conceived in Sept when I was 26 and well..she was a bouncing curly haired little princess!!


Please check this out with friends who have already given birth...and it might not be 100% accurate.


By the way this chart has been circulating around for more than 30 years and I only used it in 1985 and 1986 when my colleagues shared it with me..


My boy was born in Sibu during the Rabbit Year of 1987.at 7.02 p.m. on a Friday...The delivery was almost a disaster . However thanks to a special and caring  gynaecologist who  had to come to rescue  . He was in the middle of his dinner. The doctor in attendance also came to monitor the foetal distress. And I was told to be strong and not lose my vision!! A simple and successful delivery can be carried out by experienced midwives - and I had no doubt about their expertise!!. My cousin Dr.T had been monitoring my pregnancy from Kuching . Here I would to thank all the nurses and midwives and doctors who formed to team to deliver the healthy baby boy who had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck...


He was welcomed to the world by a loud applause from the team which had been so expectant and worried..


Yes indeed..a boy and I do believe that the whole Sibu was happy that he was a boy....


..and he would soon be 25!!  God blessed me with a boy and he has grown up to be a very responsible and caring son.

(This chart can surface every now and then in magazines or even newspapers...but what you can do is have a check on the children you already have. Is the chart accurate? Did I get a boy really on that specific day?)