Although prospective parents’ biggest wish is to have a child that is healthy, many also express their desire to have either a boy or a girl. Whether you are having your first child, or have already had children, many couples would like to have a child of a specific sex. While there are many old wives’ tales that claim that the food you eat, positioning during sex, and the side of the bed that you sleep on can increase your chances of having a boy or a girl, these approaches have no scientific basis. Chinese fertility calendars use the month of conception, paired with the age of the mother at the time of the birth to determine if the couple will have a boy or a girl. However, old wives’ tales and Chinese pregnancy calendars are not reliable ways to choose or predict the sex of your baby. If you are serious about increasing your chances of having a child of a certain sex, these sperm sorting treatments are more effective.

There are two methods of sperm sorting that are used by fertility specialists. The first method is based on the theory that male sperm swim faster than female sperm. The sperm is placed in a test tube filled with thick layers of a sticky protein. Since the male sperm are faster swimmers, they should be able to make it to the bottom layer of the test tube faster than the female sperm. Since the female swimmers are slow, they should remain in the first layer of the test tube. The woman is then inseminated with the layer that should contain the most sperm of the desired sex.

Another method of sperm sorting is based on the theory that female sperm are larger than male sperm. The provided sperm sample is dyed with a solution, and then laser light is directed at the sperm. The sperm are divided based on how brightly they shine under the laser light. Since female sperm are bigger, they should light up more brightly than the male sperm.

If you have suffered from a miscarriage in New Jersey or surrounding areas, our New Jersey in vitro fertilization specialists can increase your chances of successfully conceiving a child.