Dr. Anthony Benjamin Chukwunwike (A.B.C) Nworah, a Professor of Gynaecology at Calvary Foundation Greece, in a chat with OKEY CHRIS, explains among other issues, the crisis within couples and families, over who determines sex of baby
Many families have been thrown into crisis by infertility and determining sex of baby palaver. Sex of a child remains a burning issue among Africans. These have often led to domestic violence, infidelity, killings or divorce. In advanced countries, there are technologies used in determining. What is your take on this?
Well, the issue of infertility has been there since. It is part of man. The demand for a particular gender has also been there. It depends on how people are looking at it at a particular era. In the ancient days and even in the Holy Bible, you will see how people prayed to have a child or male or female child. But a male child is what people demands most. People don’t always break their heads over female children. But they break their heads over male children for obvious reasons. Most people believe that there is something peculiar for having a male child. But we are now in an advance age, where these things shouldn’t count. In terms of war, men are sent to battle field both now and in the ancient time. They are also needed in carrying out several activities. But women see female children as assets to them at old age. This is because in her husband’s home not much is expected of her. If she earns N10, she is entitled to at least N8, because her husband may provide all the family needs while she caters for N2. So, they normally have more in reserve to use to help others when they wish to. There are certain things they cannot structure by nature of their body. You must also remember that the most precious thing about her is her beauty or her appearance. If anything destroys that appearance, she is a loser. But a man is still important even if you cut his nose and he is still breathing.
How would you analyse the issue of child sex selection?
As I said, the whole thing centres around women’s ovulation time. You know that a woman must release ovum (egg), which must be fertilised by man’s sperm introduced into it before a human being would be formed. It is a long process, but I will put it in a simple language. For those who are desperate about any particular sex of the child, male or female. There are different methods to adopt. They include the popularly known Billings method, Sethis method, Ogbogu method and Mrs Okoro’s positional method, which has no scientific explanation yet.
Billings has to do with calculation based on when the ovulation takes place. Ogbogu is also on calculations, but it takes cognizance of the facts that people have variations in menstrual cycle, and that usually, ovulation takes place two weeks to the next menses. For the woman who has six weeks cycle, ovulation takes place after four weeks.
Determining sex of a baby
The principle of determining sex of a baby hovers round the ovulation date. If the conjugal relationship takes place long before the ovulation date, the chances are greater for a female child. When it takes place very close to the ovulation date, on the ovulation date proper, or just shortly after it, the chance tilt towards a male child. It must be remembered that whilst the sperm has a life span of three to five days, the ovum has only 18 to 24 hours. This means that something has to be done before the ovum dies.
Fertile period
The fact is that in the early phase of the fertile period, the virginal milieu is acidic which favours the faster movement of the female producing sperm cells, whilst around the ovulation time; the milieu is alkaline favouring the faster movement of male sperm. It is on this basis that Sethi, an Indian doctor developed a method of making the environment alkaline for a male child to preferably emerge. This method is widely used by medical experts. To produce a male child by applying this method, the right titer of alkaline solution is to be applied to make the environment favourable (alkaline) for male sperm to travel faster. It therefore follows that the possible ovulation date has to be decisively predetermined. However, this date can sometimes be emotionally influenced or altered by infections or even certain drugs and herbal concoctions as it is often the case with our women. With the new developments in ovulation tests, the doctor and the patient can jointly safely arrive at the ovulation date.
Quality of the male sperm
Another deciding factor is the quality of the male sperm, which includes sperm motility, progression, viability, structural normality, and absence of infections as deficiencies in these units can lead to either non-conception or to abnormal fetal development and possible miscarriages. It therefore follows that the doctor must first establish the fertility status of the couples so that the doctor does not waste his time hitting a brick wall. If there are faults, they must first be jointly corrected both sides unless otherwise requested, as one strangely notices situations where the man requests that his wife be treated first, sometimes out of financial reasons or for some other reasons.
Reproductive factors
There are other methods like the electronic separation of male sperm cells from female sperm cells and using whichever one needs. Other reproductive factors being equal, the separated spermatozoa can then be injected into the woman’s womb and it naturally finds its way into the following tubes where usually one of them fertilizes the descending ovum. This is called insemination.
Test tube babies
Alternatively, where the fallopian tube passage has been irretrievably blocked thus making the natural union of the egg and sperm, impossible one can resort to in vitor fertilization, popularly called test tube babies. Unfortunately, the cost both at home and abroad are not clement populace. Luckily however, a technique known as tubal flush when correctly performed using the appropriate drugs and chemicals in the flush fluid, over 8 out of 10 blocked, those can be readily opened and renders the test tube baby only as a last resort, but where one can afford it, usually in sophisticated hospitals at home and abroad, it would also help.
Why is ovulation important for child selection?
Ovulation time is very important to note because it is when the egg is laid, usually in between the cycles. Within these periods, female sperm does not settle but withers away within 8 to 24 hours. But the male sperms spend up to 3 days. Man has male and female sperms. But the women have only one. It is a man sperm that determines which child to be produced. If a man introduces a male producing sperm, it will produce a male child. But if is a woman sperm, it will produce a female child. The ovum is more or less neutral. What it sees it take. But when the sperm meets the egg at a less favourable time, it will produce male a child. For instance, what we call the virginal milieu (inside virgina) becomes acidic after menses till it reaches ovulation time. At ovulation time, it becomes basic. At this stage (before ovulation), if a man has an affair with a woman, he is likely to produce a female child. As it is getting towards ovulation time, virginal milieu changes into basic. At this stage, male sperm moves faster. So it is likely to reach the ovum at that particular time and fertilise it and you will produce a male child. It is luckily done at ovulation or immediately after ovulation. The egg does not die immediately because it has an age span of about 24 hours. So like I said before, it lies around ovulation time; close to ovulation time, at ovulation time or immediately ovulation time. Away from that, it will be female. That is why most unwanted pregnancy (child born out of wedlock) usually by young boys and girls are females. This is because they wait for menses to stop before having intercourse. That is the period the environment is acidic. Then, speed of female sperms are high than those of male sperm.
When does ovulation usually take place?
Ovulation takes place from the first day when the menses started. But it takes place around the 14 day. But there are variations in some female cycle. But generally, about 90% of women have their ovulation time on the 14th day. But most of the women cycle generally lasts within 28 days. But we have cycles which take between 56 days or 21 days. But I will advise the women to seek doctor advice on how to calculate their cycle.
How would a man know that he has a male sperm?
It is always there. It goes out once you copulate.
What other professional advice
First, the couple should understand themselves because they are not in control of the situation. That is why we have variation in cycle like 28 days, 35 days and so on. They should listen to each other and stay together to avoid infidelity. If they contact infections, it might alter the cycle or introduce disease.
Are there no way experts can make it clearer?
One, the experts have to explain it to the couple. They should know why they have 21 days cycle or so. They can distract it once is natural to her. There is no need distracting them so far is regular to her. But there are medical alternative to change the cycle. It has to do with drugs. You have to change the cycle by taking some drugs.
How about the banana method. Does it help in determining sex of a baby?
I don’t know. There is no medical prove to that.
Does prayer contribute to producing a particular sex of baby?
It contributes. As I said before it is also in the bible. But I don’t think that God wants prayer alone. If He wants it, there wouldn’t be need for doctors. There are some biblical books to back it up. But prayers can be abused. Like what we see on newspapers today.
Can you explain more on using sperm insemination in getting a baby?
We do that. But it is in the case of outright infertility. Here we don’t usually care to know if it is a male or female. You can pick a man’s sperm and inject it into a woman’s virginal. But you must make sure that all the factors are working. That is, she ovulates, the tubes are open, etc. Even the one we call Test Tube where you pierce through the woman’s abdomen, pick out the ovum, fertilise it with a man’s sperm outside the womb and return it when it starts developing into a child. It is called test baby. It works and it is the last resort. But it is too expensive. And insemination cannot take place where the tube is blocked. Because egg has to pass through the tube and sperms have to pass through it as well.
