Once thought the province of magicians, as well as soothsayers, not to mention the many old wives’ tales of rings suspended on string, or how high or how low the pregnant Mom was carrying her baby, those methods seem to have been thrown to the wayside. There is new technology that is at the forefront of helping couples avoid embryos that carry various genetic diseases that may actually be fatal to the newborn.

However, that very same technology is also being used to help some couples to choose the gender of their baby. The very same Dr. who discovered the process is very disturbed by the direction that his formulated technology is taking.

On the other hand, couples who have tried for years for a son but ended up with six daughters instead and who still yearn for a male progeny think that this technology is the answer to their prayers. They immediately rush to find out more, believing that it’s very important to choose the gender of your baby.

Whether seeking to prevent pregnancy in a female carrying a genetic code for genetic disease as mentioned above, or to choose the gender of the embryo, the process is the exact same. It is called by the unwieldy name of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD for short.

The way that it works is that a mother’s egg is taken and fertilized in vitro, which means in a lab dish, with the father’s sperm and once fertilized the PGD is administered. While there may be very many fertilizations, by taking a microscopic cell to be drawn and examined, they can read the genetic makeup of the cell and ascertain if it has a genetic problem, and thus that particular fertilization will not be implanted in the mother’s womb.

However, it is not just the genetic makeup that they can read, they can also tell if the embryo will be a boy or a girl. In the case of ascertaining if it carries genetic disease, then that one will not be implanted, but in the case of seeking the “right” gender, then if 3 out of 12 embryos are males then those are implanted.

The implants do not always “take” and sometimes must be repeated a number of times. Further, they often result in twins or triplets, so that instead of delivering one boy, the mother may deliver three of them. Those who follow this course need to know that this is a very high possibility.

The couple also needs to be prepared for a long very drawn out procedure or procedures. Each procedure is very expensive and not covered by medical insurance. The cost is variable, but often one procedure will run about $18,000.

While PGD is an absolutely awesome discovery for preventing untold suffering by both parents and the child, if there is a genetic problem, it has made many couples very happy who as mentioned above have been trying for one sex or another. Most who have gone through the PGD have delivered the gender they so direly wished for.

Click here for the guide we recommend if you want to choose the gender of your baby.