STI: Sorting out X from Y

Nov 29, 2004
Sorting out X from Y

In this age of increasing choices in many aspects of life, more couples are considering choosing the sex of their child too. Improved technology has added to this possibility.

Talk to your gynaecologist and consult with several fertility clinics before you go ahead with any procedure.

An increasing number of fertility specialists and reproductive endocrinologists perform procedures like sperm-spinning. This procedure is based on the principle that sperm determines the sex of the child. Sperm selection produces a sample of semen with a changed proportion of X or Y-bearing sperm.

In the technology called flow cytometry - used for farm animals and adapted to humans - sperm are tagged as bearing X chromosomes (that determine females) or Y chromosomes (that determine males) with different dyes and sorted in a machine into different batches used for artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilisation.

Another technique combines the parents' eggs and sperm in a petri dish and then tests the embryo to see its chromosome make-up, and implants the desired one in the woman's womb.

These are methods only done in fertility clinics under medical supervision.

Some sperm separation methods claim to affect the birth ratio. Some clinics using this procedure have claimed up to an eight in 10 chance of conceiving a desired child.

There are no guarantees, but some clinics are currently testing the effectiveness and safety of the process.

The procedures are also expensive.

Some experts say the odds of having a girl can be boosted by taking the fertility drug Clomid. But there are potential side effects to this and any drug.

Some calendar methods claim success, under the principle that having sex on certain days of the menstrual cycle matter, as the chemistry of the endometrium changes.

People have tried changing the chemical balance of the vagina. Some have tried using vinegar or baking-soda based douches. Scientists do not agree with these methods.

Using various positions in sex has also been tried, with various ideas including one that the Y chromosome is more delicate and therefore needs to be more firmly implanted in the vagina to enter the tubes, suggesting that the woman's hips be lifted in the air.

Some people have tried herbs. Others have turned to drastic diets to try to alter the chemistry of the vagina.

Medical associations are hesitant to endorse any as a tried and true method.

Dr Judy Kuriansky is a New York-based clinical psychologist, marital counsellor, certified sex therapist and professor at Columbia University Teachers College. Her books include The Complete Idiot's Guide To Dating, The Complete Idiot's Guide To A Healthy Relationship and The Complete Idiot's Guide To Tantric Sex.