Want an Only Child -- Now What?

[Maggie687]

I can't use the "family balancing" argument to get gender selection treatment. I don't have any other children!

I've always wanted one child -- a daughter. There is a strong history of Aspergers in the men on my husband's side of the family and I would love to avoid SOME of that risk with a girl. (You don't have to tell me that women get Aspergers too -- I realise that. But all the research shows that boys are much more likely to suffer from it than girls.)

Some clinics (like North Cyprus IVF) don't consider my situation a problem, but I haven't heard many positive things so I'm wary. Other sources suggest that this is the end of the road for me, because it's not considered one of the approved genetic disorders that you can gender-select against.

Can anyone shed a light on any of this? I haven't read a single other post by someone in my situation. Everyone else is family balancing!

[nicoler]

It doesn't matter if you have 5 kids or no kids, choosing to do ivf is a personal decision. Choose a clinic that allows you to select the embryo of your choice and you'll be fine! If you're uncomfortable saying you want gender selection you can always just say you've been trying to conceive for more than a year without success and want to pursue ivf. A truly infertile woman and a fertile woman often don't show any differences in their pretesting.

[nicoler]

The majority of US clinics don't care a bit about gender selection (even for a first child) but I'm not sure about the rules at European or foreign clinics.