A BOY OR A GIRL – WHAT ARE THE PREFERENCES OF THE PARENTS OF TODAY?
Some parents know whether they want a boy or a girl even before they have seen the positive test. Others do not have particular gender preferences and only hope for the pregnancy to go smoothly.
However, it is far more interesting how the preferences of modern parents have changed from those of the previous generations.
In the past, parents preferred having a boy. In the social context of the past that was fully understandable. The norm was for the son to remain at his father’s house, while the daughter went to her husband’s house. In this way she became part of his family, continued his family line and takes care of his parents when they grow old. Some societies nowadays have still not managed to break free of this stereotype and most parents over there still prefer having boys.
Nowadays, young couples do not have to live with either one’s parents. Furthermore, the boundary between gender roles is now almost obsolete. Both men and women have close to equal opportunities for career development and financial well-being. In some families in the west children even inherit BOTH their mother and their father’s last name. The most famous example of that is Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the first born daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. All these things contributed to the shift in gender preferences for babies. More and more parents-to-be say that they want to have a girl.
CAN PARENTS CHOOSE THE SEX OF THE BABY?
For pregnancies conceived naturally, the answer is no. However, the sex of the baby usually becomes known at around the 20th week of gestation as part of a routine ultrasound examination. It can be known even earlier (~ 9th week of gestation) if an optional non-invasive DNA screening test is done.
А Вие имате ли предпочитания за пола на бъдещото Ви дете? А ако вече сте родители, сбъдна ли се Вашето желание?
For pregnancies conceived through IVF there is a method that makes possible the transfer of only female or male embryos. It is called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and is usually employed in cases where there is a genetic disease segregating in the family. The method can be used for selecting embryos based on gender, not only based on the absence of a disease gene. However, according to Bulgarian Law gender selection of embryos is only allowed for medical reasons. In other words, it is allowed in cases of sex-linked genetic diseases which affect predominantly one gender (usually males – hemophilia, color blindness, etc.).
Do you have any preference for the sex of your future child? And if you are already a parent, was your wish fulfilled?