Would You Choose Your Babys Sex?

Selecting a Baby Boy or Girl

In the study, which appears in the March issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers surveyed 561 women who sought treatment at a hospital-based infertility clinic in 2002 about the demand and preferences for sex selection.

Among the women surveyed, 41% said they wanted to select the sex of their next child if the option was offered at no additional cost. Of those, 45% did not have any children and 48% had children of the same sex.

Half of the women who said they'd select the sex of their next baby if the option was free also said they'd be willing to pay for the opportunity.

Researchers found that about 38% of the women who wanted to select the sex of their child wanted a boy and about 61% wanted a girl.

The study also showed that most women who already had children wanted to use sex selection to balance the gender composition of their family: women who had only daughters wanted to select a boy and women with only sons wanted to select a girl.

The study showed that women who were younger, African-American, Hispanic/Latino, less educated (bachelor's degree or lower), nonreligious, and less wealthy were also more likely to report a demand for sex selection.

Researchers say sex selection is controversial for many reasons. Some believe it would lead to gender imbalances in society as well as contribute to gender stereotyping and discrimination.

"One of the fears is that sex selection will drive patients toward a certain sex," says Jain. "And the presumption is a preference for boys. But our study did not show that. In fact, in patients who did not have children there was no greater desire for boys over girls."

Based on these findings, researchers say it may be important for infertility clinics, as well as society, to determine what is an acceptable use of sex selection for nonmedical reasons.

SOURCES: Jain, T. Fertility & Sterility, March 2005; vol 83: pp 649-658. News release, University of Illinois at Chicago.