Sex Selection; Boy or Girl? It’s up to you!

People have always been interested to have a choice in being the parent of a boy or girl. There have been many rumors and personal recommendations telling by people that were claimed to be the ways of choosing your children’s sex. Even Aristotle had some recommendations for those couples who wanted a boy.

He advised couples to have intercourse when the wind is in the north. Some other people assumed that factors such as having a certain diet, intercourse timing and having a special position let couples to choose their child’s sex. It seems that in every culture these recommendations may be different. But are they really working?

Based on scientific studies, these recommendations often have no reliability and are close to rumors.  But if you would like having a gender selection, there is nothing to worry about. By using modern reproductive technologies, it is now possible to have a real sex selection before pregnancy.

Despite the benefits of these new technologies, they are not available for couples all around the world. In some countries sex selection is totally banned, while in some others it is limited to those who want to do it for preventing a sex-related disease. However, in some countries this technology is also available for couples who want to have a “family balance” regarding their previous children.

Sex Selection Method

In the beginning, sex selection technology was invented for choosing female embryos in order to prevent giving birth to a child with a genetic disorder that the male babies would be affected while the females would not. But in the recent years, couples may use this technology for family balancing.

Today the most effective technique of sex selection is preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) which is sometimes referred to as preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). In order to use this technique, patients should use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to test embryos. By undergoing IVF and PGD, the desired sex embryo is chosen with almost 100% accuracy. The other methods of sex selection try to separate sperms which contain X and Y chromosomes, but none of them has a success rate above 75-80 percent.

Baby’s Sex Selection using PGD/ PGS

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) can be used for screening embryos to make sure they do not have genetic abnormalities. Also for choosing the sex of the embryos we can take advantage of PGD technology.

Baby’s sex is identified by two pairs of chromosomes. Females have two X chromosomes while males have either X or Y chromosomes. If the sperm which is fertilizing the egg has an X chromosome, then the resulting embryo would be a female, but if the sperm contains Y chromosome, the resulting embryo would be a male. Thus, a female embryo has XX chromosomes and a male embryo carries XY chromosomes.

PGD or PGS can be practiced to detect embryo’s chromosomal make-up. Then the desired sex embryo can be selected to be transferred into the woman’s uterus for growing. The technology of determining the embryo’s sex is called FISH or fluorescent in-situ hybridization.

PGD Sex Selection Process

First the patient undergoes the ovaries stimulation process in order to produce multiple eggs. Necessary medications are taken during this phase. Then doctor by using a probe and a fine needle retrieves the eggs and prepare them for insemination, meanwhile the male partner gives a sperm sample on the same day. The gametes are inseminated in a laboratory environment to make embryos.

After about 5-7 days, an embryologist tests the embryos by carefully removing a few cells from the outside layer of them. While the laboratory staff are looking for any genetic abnormalities, they will also identify male and female embryos. At this point, the prospective parents have this option to choose their preferred sex and finally the doctor will transfer the chosen embryo into the woman’s uterus.

Gender selection success rate with PGD/PGS

The success rate of gender selection using IVF+PGD is very high, no matter it is used for medical purposes or personal ones. Although there are other methods for sex selection including sperm spinning which separates the X and Y chromosomes, the combination of IVF and PGD is the most reliable way by almost 100 percent accuracy.

However, some of the patients may not be able to produce healthy eggs and sperms because of various reasons like age, gametes quality, egg supplies, etc. In this case, first of all they may need to use donors for having healthy embryos and then attempt to have a sex selection option.

Pros of IVF with PGD

There are several advantages in using IVF and PGD process. We mention some of them below.

• If you want to get pregnant, you can almost be completely sure that you will have your preferred-sex child
• If you undergo PGD process, you may have multiple extra embryos prepared to be frozen for the future use, in case you have a miscarriage or want to have more children.
• By using PGD the chance of IVF success goes higher, because the weak and abnormal embryos will be discarded. So patients with older ages can take advantage of this technology in order to increase their chance of pregnancy.

Cons of IVF with PGD

• The cost of one IVF and PGD cycle can be very high in some countries. In order to make the costs more affordable, you can choose countries where there are lower costs for this process. Iran can be one of the best options for IVF+PGD procedures due to its amazing low costs and having the highest quality technology and best facilities. (for getting more information, contact our experts at TebMedTourism company).
• Fertility drugs like other medicines can have their own side effects such as weight gain, bloating, etc.
• Some clinics may let PGD testing only for medical reasons. If you want to undergo PGD test for selecting the sex of your child, you should call them and ask for information.

To sum up

Thanks to the modern reproductive technologies, today choosing your child’s sex based on your interest and your imaginations is available. You can have a daughter to clothe her beautiful dresses or have a son to take him for fishing on the weekends! It is all up to you! But first, if you need any help and need more information, you can consult our experts at TebMedTourism and take advantage of our amazing IVF+PGD packages in order to fulfill your family dreams.

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