Gender Selection

Gender selection has been something people have wished for and dreamed of since prehistoric times: Early drawings suggest people were as interested in having a child of a specific sex as they are today. At La Jolla IVF, elite board-certified physician David B. Smotrich, MD, FACOG, has over three decades of specialized experience in this leading-edge area of fertility medicine. To learn more about how you can choose a boy or a girl, instead of leaving it to chance, call the La Jolla, California, office or request your appointment online today.

What is gender selection?

Gender selection refers to medical practices to select the sex of your baby. People have wished for a boy or a girl since the beginning of human history, for a variety of reasons. 

While it was all guesswork and myth in the old days, today’s advanced technology now makes it possible to reliably select the sex of your baby. 

What are the reasons to pursue gender selection?

A few of the most common reasons for gender selection are:

Genetic disease

Some genetic disorders, such as muscular dystrophy and hemophilia, are linked to the male sex, while others, like Turner syndrome, only occur in females. 

Parents who have sex-linked genetic diseases or who have the genes for them often opt for gender selection to avoid passing that disease onto their offspring. 

Family balancing

Parents who already have a boy or girl or several children of the same sex may want to have a child of the opposite sex with their next pregnancy. This allows for dependable family balancing instead of leaving the matter up to hopes and wishes.

Of course, every parent has unique reasons for choosing gender selection, and cultural, social, and economic reasons may all contribute to the decision. Every reason is valid, and every patient is respected and honored at La Jolla IVF. 

How does gender selection work?

Two sex selection methods are:

Gradient method

Gradient method uses the simplest sex selection technology. It involves treating sperm to separate X-bearing and Y-bearing sperm. X-bearing sperm are heavier. 

Then, the selected material can be used for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF). The gradient method isn’t highly successful and isn’t recommended on its own.

Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS)

PGS is a test that is primarily performed to screen for chromosomal anomalies such as Down syndrome. First, embryos are created and stay in the lab for three days. 

On day three or five, a biopsy is performed to evaluate DNA and cell structure using one cell per embryo. On day five or six, the results are available, and these results also reveal embryo sex.

At that point, healthy embryos of the chosen sex can then be transferred. When a transfer results in pregnancy, the odds of gender selection success are 99-100%. 

To learn more about sex selection, call La Jolla IVF or book your consultation online today.