The general idea of sex selection for a baby has changed a bit over the course of human history, and has meant different things in various contexts. Today, it most commonly refers to very new medical methods involved in fertility treatments that allow for sperm or embryo selection that will determine the gender of the child. However, there are different kinds of sex selection, or as it’s also called, “family balancing” that are widely diverse and used in different societies and situations.
Medical Sex Selection: Gender Selection in Modern Times
Today’s doctors have multiple methods of medical sex selection available to them. Fertility specialists can pursue two different main kinds of gender or sex selection in IVF or in vitro fertilization processes.
The first method involves the sperm. Sperm can be separated by modern methods in order to select sperm with an X or Y chromosome. This is generally effective in influencing the gender of a baby born with ART or Assisted Reproductive Technology.
The second method involves the egg. Fertility doctors can do what’s called “embryo selection,” where using specific fertilized embryos can influence the child’s gender.
Both of these processes are pursued prior to implantation of the embryo in IVF. There is no way to influence the gender after implantation, but with amniocentesis and ultrasound, parents can find out during the pregnancy what the gender of the child will be.
Informal Sex Selection: Homeopathic Methods
Some other types of sex selection are based on science that is a bit older or pursues less precise methodology. One type of “homeopathic” sex selection is called the Shettles method after a Doctor Shettles, who suggests that couples can influence their baby’s gender using ovulation calendars or creating different conditions for conception. There are different varieties to this kind of method that future parents can learn about in commonly available books or other media.
Tragic Gender Selection Practices
The wider history of gender selection for infants includes troubling tales of abortive behavior or even infanticide. Historically, some cultures have valued one gender of child over another, which can have some tragic consequences in how families deal with childbirth. Fortunately, in many of these nations and societies, governments and advocacy groups have worked to limit this kind of aggressive gender selection practice.
Tomorrow’s fertility treatments and procedures can allow for some specific opportunities that many scientists see as kinder, gentler methods for producing outcomes in pregnancy. However, modern sex selection methods are widely controversial, and not everyone agrees on whether parents should be able to choose the gender of their child. Some human rights advocates see gender selection as a “slippery slope” to the kinds of historic practices that devalued human life.
For parents who are dealing with IVF or ART, sex selection can become part of a greater process for choosing embryos with the best candidacy or chances for success. Couples can talk to their OBGYNs and get referrals to fertility specialists in reproductive health centers who can counsel them on all of their choices and options for dealing with the modern science of fertility.
