From IviGen's Genetic Counselor

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and IviGen. My name is Alyssa, and I am IviGen's genetic counselor. IviGen offers highly reliable genetic testing to determine the gender of embryos as part of the IVF process. Our test combines aneuploidy screening of chromosomes (PGS or CCS) with an additional step to confirm the gender. This test is called GenderSure and is 99.9999 accurate!

I have been exploring this site and learning so much from everyone's posts. I began working with IviGen since its inception, and I have a long-standing interest in fertility and family building. My background is in genetic counseling and the genetics of preimplantation embryos. I look forward to discussions here and answering any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

Alyssa C Snider, MS, PhD, LCGC

I have 3 little girls. My husband had a semen analysis and I know men make 50/50 as far as xx and xy. My question is....can we do anything to improve chances of having more xy?

Hi Alyssasmom789! Thank you for your question. This website has a lot of great ideas and suggestions for how to conceive a boy (or a girl). At IviGen, we test embryos that are already conceived through IVF to determine the gender. Embryos that are of the desired gender may then be transferred to the mother for the pregnancy.

Like you said, we would expect about 50/50 boys versus girls, but obviously, that rule does not always play out. The best way to improve the chances of having xy embryos is to have more embryos! For example, if you have 2 embryos, based on statistics, we would expect 1 to be a boy and 1 to be a girl. However, it is also possible that both could be boys or both could be girls. The more embryos a couple is able to obtain through IVF, the higher the likelihood of having at least one boy (or at least one girl). Some couples will naturally generate more embryos, and some couples might need to do more than one cycle of IVF.

I hope this is helpful to you, and I wish you luck in your family building.

Sincerely,
Alyssa

Thank you Alyssa. We hope to have our first cycle of if with God in August. Unfortunately, we are not sure we would be able to afford more than one cycle. Would you suggest anything to have more embryos or is that just something one cant control. Also, my husband smokes occasionally and when his semen analysis came back good hes convinced not to give it up. Does smoking really have an affect? Im 28 and hes 31. We are both healthy no medical history whatsoever. I conceived all 3 of my girls so quickly first try in fact I think if he waves at me ill get pregnant :)

Hi again! There are a few things that your fertility doctor can do to help you obtain more embryos during IVF. That fertility doctor would be the best person to provide guidance on this! Men usually have lots of sperm (if their semen analysis is good), so the limiting factor is usually the number of eggs that can be obtained from the woman. We usually see that younger women are able to obtain more eggs. At 28, you would be considered "young" :)

It is difficult to convince someone to quit smoking if they are not interested. However, it is recognized that smoking can impact one's health in a variety of ways, not just with sperm concentration, morphology, and motility. Smoking is carcinogenic, and second-hand smoking can impact your health as well. If IVF doesn't work, or if you do not get the boy you are hoping for, is it because your partner smokes? Probably not because there are so many factors involved... But quitting smoking could only improve your health and his, and increase the chances of having a successful pregnancy.

Best wishes,
Alyssa