Choosing the Gender of your Child
Before the introduction of medical technology, couples had no way of knowing if their unborn child would be a boy or a girl. Now, not only do medical advances give couples the opportunity to learn the gender of their child before birth, but fertility doctors can even give parents the opportunity for gender selection. At Dr. Sonja Kristiansen’s Houston fertility center, we offer gender selection for couples who are concerned with the possibility of gender-based genetic conditions and for those who want the choice of balancing their family by choosing the desired sex of their child. At Dr. Kristiansen’s high tech embryology laboratory, we offer techniques that provide couples from Houston and Sugarland the unique opportunity of gender selection.
Sperm Washing
The sperm wash process is a technique that allows Dr. Kristiansen to obtain a highly concentrated amount of sperm by placing the ejaculate in a centrifuge that separates out the sperm. This can be a highly successful fertility technique, but it is also one method that is sometimes used in gender selection. The x bearing (or female producing) sperm can be separated from the y bearing (or male producing) sperm based on their genetic weight. While this is a gender selection technique that increases the chances of either a male or female child, it is not considered a highly reliable method and is not Dr. Kristiansen’s first recommendation for gender selection.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a method used to test embryos for chromosomal anomalies. It is also the most effective method of determining the sex of the embryo. While Dr. Kristiansen does not recommend that this testing be completed solely to test the gender of the embryo, it is a successful gender selection technique. For our couples in Houston, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is necessary for preimplantation genetic diagnosis and gender selection (through this method) to be performed. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is a technique in which a biopsy is performed on an embryo that has been created through IVF. One cell is removed from the embryo and sent for genetic testing and cell structure analysis. When Dr. Kristiansen has the results of the genetic testing, those embryos that are free of chromosomal anomalies will be chosen for the embryo transfer stage of IVF. If a couple is interested in gender selection, only those embryos that are of the desired gender will be transferred. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is a gender selection technique with between 99 and one hundred percent success rate. It is the most reliable gender selection method available at our Houston fertility center.
Schedule an Appointment
In this day and age, there is no reason that couple’s shouldn’t take advantage of the available medical technology. At our state-of-the-art fertility center, Dr. Kristiansen can help couples from Houston, Sugarland, and surrounding areas by performing infertility treatment, testing for genetic anomalies, and even giving couples the option of gender selection. If you would like to learn more about any of these fertility treatments, schedule an appointment with Dr. Kristiansen at your earliest convenience.
