Gender Selection Success Rates

When couples ask us about success rates they usually want to know what there chances are of delivering a healthy baby of the desired sex. Success rates depend upon many factors including which procedure is chosen, the couple's age, underlying medical conditions, etc.

Couples who are "reproductively healthy" have a greater chance of conceiving than those with underlying diseases, such as male factor infertility. Couples' choosing the Ericsson method of gender selection will undergo an intrauterine insemination cycle(s) often using ovulation inducing medications.

Reproductively healthy couples have a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month where regular intercourse occurs. Those undergoing intrauterine insemination with ovulation inducing medications generally have a 25-30% chance of becoming pregnant in any given cycle. Therefore, some couples will require more than one cycle and most will be pregnant after three.

In any given IUI cycle where pregnancy occurs, there is a chance that a boy or girl will be conceived. The Ericsson method increases the probability that a boy or girl will be conceived based upon which sperm fraction (albumin separated) is chosen. Approximately 70-75% of the time a couple will have a baby of the selected gender. The percentage for a female offspring increases when Clomid is prescribed during the cycle.

In general, Ericsson method couples who undergo three cycles of IUI have a >80% of conceiving and a 70-75% chance of producing the desired sex.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis with IVF (IVF/PGD) produces higher "gender selection success rates" since only embryos of the chosen gender are transferred to the mother. Patients choosing PGD must undergo an in vitro fertilization cycle.

Approximately 38% of infertile couples undergoing IVF will conceive. This percentage is highly dependent upon several factors including female age, underlying disease(s), and previous treatments.

Couples undergoing IVF for gender selection, which are reproductively healthy, should exceed the 38% success rate. A major determinant of success is female age and ovarian reserve. All IVF patients receive injectable follicle stimulating hormone to cause the recruitment and development of multiple follicles.

PGD is performed on the embryos and only those of the appropriate sex are transferred to the mother. Sometimes it is also possible to freeze embryos for use in future "non-stimulated" IVF cycles. If a reproductively healthy couple undergoes three cycles of IVF, they will conceive >80% of the time and will have a child of the desired gender.