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Archived Q&A and Reviews

Clomid and Ericsson?

Dec 2008

I am considering doing an Ericsson sperm sorting to try for a girl (which requires taking Clomid, too), and I was wondering about whether anyone has information on long term risks of Clomid to the baby--is there any higher risk of autism or other learning delays that anyone has heard of? I saw on one website about a whole mothers' group with kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders and the moms had all taken Clomid. Is this just a coincidence? Also, I have seen a couple posts about Ericsson's method, but was wondering whether anyone had new information. A couple of the original labs have been closed down, so I wondered if there was a reason for this? Has it been shown to be ineffective? Thanks in advance.

Clomid never worked for me, so I can't address that part of your question, but I've been looking into gender selection in hopes of having a girl, too, and concluded that the Ericsson method wasn't effective enough for me. www.in-gender.com has useful info in the articles and annecdotal info in the forums. I also recommend reading ''Chasing the Gender Dream'' by Jennifer Merrill Thompson. Saving Up for Microsort
Don't worry! There is no connection between Clomid and autism. Non-inherited autism is associated with the father's age. An older woman married to an older man is more likely to take Clomid. But, it's not the Clomid causing autism; it's the age of the father.

The risk for autism not only increases with paternal age, but also appears to accelerate. The risk of fathering an autistic child is 1.5 times as great for fathers in their 30s as it is for fathers in their teens and twenties. Fathers in their 40s have five times the risk. Fathers in their 50s have 9 times the risk.

The best solution is obviously for society to encourage women to marry younger men. And, couples should check for a family history of autism or schizophrenia before having children. www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/09/05/autism_study_finds_fathers_age_a_factor/

Sensible

We used clomid and a method similar to Ericsson with success. We also wanted increase our chances for having a girl after having two boys. I was on Clomid for 3 months - finally successful with the 3rd IUI. My daughter is completely healthy and was ahead in her development in all ways. I have never heard anything about a correlation between clomid users and an increased risk of autism. FYI - we ended up using Dr. Zorn in Walnut Creek for the sorting (1st two times) and then went to the sister office in Berkeley (a woman does the sorting there) for the 3rd. Not sure if either are still in business. Good luck! Finally pink after two blues!
I tried Clomid, as did many, many twin moms that I know (I finally got pregnant with injectable hormones), and am not aware of an autism link. I think the autism link is most likely related to advanced maternal age - are the women on the site you found older women who had to turn to fertility treatments in order to conceive? I didn't have a problem with the one round of Clomid I did, but several other women I know had reactions that were like severe PMS. anon
My daughter is a Clomid baby and is not on the Autism Spectrum.

Clomid is a nasty drug. I felt, dreamt and thought about murdering people while I took it. When I stopped taking Clomid, these thoughts and feelings stopped. However, I'd take it again if it meant that I could have my daughter.

I have noticed something that I hope is studied and that is babies who were conceived with sperm without semen are significantly more intelligent than average children who are healthy. When I say significant, the healthy children I know who were concieved with ''spun'' sperm have minimum IQs of 140 and some children are topping standard charts.

I also know some parents who have children on the Autism Spectrum that spun sperm to separate the semen, but did not take Clomid. Lucky Mom of Healthy, Smart Daughter

This web site seems to answer your questions really well about the sperm spinning: http://www.in-gender.com/gender-selection/Ericsson/Ericsson.aspx

Experience with sperm spinning (Ericcson method)?

Sept 2008

Has anyone had any experience (personal or through friends' stories) about sperm spinning (Ericcson method) for sex selection? Did you get the desired sex? Have you heard of people who didn't? Where did you go to do it? Any experiences would be helpful-thanks! Thinking about it

We didn't use the Ericcson method (looked into it and actually had an appointment with a dr. in Walnut Creek who ''specializes'' in using it - didn't use him) but did the sperm spinning thing with success! We used Dr. Glenn Zorn in Walnut Creek on La Casa Via near John Muir who did the actual sorting. This practice also has an office in Berkeley across from Alta Bates off Ashby where a woman does the sorting. It took 3 times (3 IUIs) then worked! We wanted a girl and had one - (after two super boys!) Depending on which gender you are hoping for, you may want to ask your ob about using Clmid to stimulate ovulation as well. I was on Clomid too (not for fertility issues) because my ob said that based on babies that she has seen born to women on Clomid, more are girls than boys. We went into the whole thing with an open mind and knew that if we had another boy, we'd still be thrilled. We did it to balance our family and we are so glad we did! It worked for us!
we did the ericsson method with our first child with a doctor on California street in the city (can't remember his exact name but he was of asian descent). we researched it and found that it isn't 100% but does increase your odds for one sex or the other. Research has found there is no difference in the rate of genetic issues between those who were born of this method and those who weren't. It is just basically insemination with a portion of your husband's semen but the semen itself isn't tagged or changed in any way. We did end up with the gender we wanted and it went quite well. We were very happy but, frankly, would have been happy regardless of the gender of the child...we just wanted to alter our odds that is all. Anyway, it was great and we were very happy. It's not for everyone and I can understand people's concerns or issues with it, but it was a great decision for us. Our child is healthy, happy, and wonderful. Good luck. anon
I'm not sure what the Ericcson method is, but I know a little bit about microsort spinning. I just spoke with a geneticist who gave me some preliminary info. Microsort's website is www.microsort.net. Apparently, if you are spinning for a girl, it is 92% accuarate and 73% accurate for a boy...not sure why the big difference. Unfortunately, I think the closest lab is in Southern Ca. I'll have to look up Ericcson and see what that is...the geneticist hadn't heard of it and said that the ''best'' was microsort....Good luck! anon
Friends did it. It didn't work. It increases odds but doesn't even come close to guaranteeing anything.

We'd love to have a daughter - sperm-sorting?

Sept 2003

My husband and I have a son and would love to have a daughter to complete our family. (We would, of course, be happy with a healthy child of either sex, but would prefer to have a daughter for our second and last child.)

It turns out that methods such as Shettles, based on timing, position of intercourse, etc., don't work. Although the idea that X-bearing sperm are slower but longer-lived than Y-bearing sperm is appealing anthropomorphic, it has been shown in the lab not to be true.

We are interested in sperm-sorting approaches, of which the most successful seems to be MicroSort (http://www.microsort.com/). There is a clinic near LA that does MicroSort, but obviously it's not very convenient to fly down to LA at the drop of an egg--does anyone know of a place in the Bay area that uses this (or similar) approach?

There's a an ob/gyn group in Berkeley (near Alta Bates) that uses a different approach: the woman takes Clomid (a fertility drug) and the sperm are passed through albumin. This approach is cheaper and more conveniently located; unfortunately, the percentage of female births is only 73% (vs. 94% for MicroSort), and there's an increased chance of having twins (8%). I don't think we'll try this approach, but I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has.

Please note: I have read http://parents.berkeley.edu/recommend/medical/SpermSort.html and was hoping for more up-to-date recommendations. Wanting a daughter

(no replies received)

Have you done sperm sorting for gender selection?

October 2001

I am considering beginning infertility treatment (artificial insemination) for the second time, and this time I would like to have a girl child because our first was a boy. I understand that it is possible to have my husband's sperm sorted for gender selection, and I am wondering if anyone has done this and what they can tell me about the experience. How much did it cost, what sort of success rate do they have as far as matching for the gender you want, and so on. I'm also curious about what kind of reaction you got from friends, family, or others on making the decision to choose your child's gender, and family balancing generally. Finally, can anyone recommend a place that will do it (sort the sperm, that is)? I'd really prefer not to have to switch to a different ob/gyn for the infertility treatment -- I just need to find a place that will sort the sperm for us because my doctor's clinic doesn't do it.

I have friends who had their sperm spun so their 3rd child could be a boy instead of another girl. I didn't hear this from them directly, but from our other close friends. But it was no secret that the only reason they were pregnant again was because this time, Dad really wanted a boy. I don't think that people generally respond well to it, and if you decide to do it, I would keep it to yourselves. This couple, whom I have no doubt found a very good doctor, now have their 3rd girl. In other words, don't count on it working for you. My opinion on the issue, which seemed to reflect the general consensus amongst friends, is that it is distasteful, particularly because you can't count on it. It can raise questions of how readily the parents will accept the new child if it didn't turn out to be the gender they were hoping for, or even if it did. In the case of my friends, I feel a little sorry for the 3rd girl, because she clearly was intended to be a boy..... But on the other hand, if they had gotten the boy they so desparately wanted, I would have felt even more sorry for the boy, since the expectations for him to be the boy his dad would want him to be would have been tremendous. Just be careful about planning for the perfect family.
I'm not sure what business it is of anyones how you plan your family. If you're worried about what people will think, don't tell them.
I believe there is a doctor who does this in the Oakland/Berkeley area. Though I do not know his name. A Colleague of my husband's used him. Although, they went through several very expensive rounds to try to get a girl, (she miscarried twice, etc.) and got a boy. He is healthy, but imagine feeling disappointed about having a healthy baby because your IVF treatment didn't go the direction you wanted it to go? Not good. This procedure only elevates your chances of getting one gender over another by a couple of percentage points. When I related this situation to my doctor, he shook his head and said that you can come close to matching the odds this procedure provides, by performing all the old wives tale methods for gender selection (i.e. timing of intercourse, etc). I realize you are doing this for infertility treatment, but based on the experiences of our acquaintances, I would recommend you skip the sperm sorting part and just hope for a healthy baby.