Baby Gender Testing At Home: Cool Or Curious?

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 05:58 am: [report]

I was kinda hoping this would tell if your baby is going to be smart or not….with a name like “Intelligender”...

jerseygrl
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:01 am: [report]

Hmm…...I’m pregnant.  Maybe I’ll give it a go and report back, lol.

jojo32
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:05 am: [report]

Uhhh…I’m with the author.  I’ll let the ultrasound tech and doctors tell me the gender.  Or, and this is a novel idea…wait until the baby is born!  Yay!  (not that I have the patience for that tho)

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:12 am: [report]

A whole new line of litigation. Pre-birth discrimination.
Woman aborts because the baby is not the gender she wanted,
husbands divorces her and sues.
If this product was developed so an early decision could be
made on abortion, then it is digusting.
A corporation making money off of such an important decision.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:42 am: [report]

@landesign: Yeah, it’s called China.

writergirl
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:47 am: [report]

Oh, yes, because I would trust ANYTHING coming from Walgreens not sanctified by the FDA and prone to limitless human error to tell me the sex of my baby.

Ultrasound is easier—and if you wait until you’re like 25 weeks for the 20 week U/S, usually it is clear as a bell.  With my son—even *I* could tell it was a penis on the screen.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 06:53 am: [report]

Whats really needed is a test to see if the baby is the person who will find a cure for cancer, of if the baby is
going to become the first woman president, or if the baby is going to grow up to be just a good kid, talking on the
cell while working the computer while Malcolm in the Middle blares from the TV, like my son. Then we can really
pick and choose. Oh goody.

retro chic
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 07:55 am: [report]

I was one of the rare few who, like my (ex)husband, wanted to wait til we heard those cherished words in the delivery room—because we reasoned, there are so few real surprises left in life.

But a spike in abortions? I don’t think so… the people that would buy this stuff are the same ones who are *trying* to have a baby, somewhat diff than the home preg test. At 10 weeks, the mother/father are already bonding, with little (or no) time to take action. More often than not—as with the amnio tests—what are you going to do with that little golden bit of info you thought would matter? Chances are—nothing.

That said, anyone wanting a baby, wants it done right… and off to the doc they go, as others noted.

The ones that want designer babies (see landesign, others), have the means to take that route with fertility docs. Also, it’s the husband that mainly objects to the *wrong* gender, since he wants his boy—the stats bear that out—so he can sue himself.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 08:05 am: [report]

Retro, no desire for designer babies here. If this test is
used even once for a decision on abortion, I thought it
would be a shame.
We went through all the baby stuff. Natural, sign up for to
adopt, in vitro, injections, been there, done that.
I have a son, the sole survivor of triplets, as my pride and joy.
We only wanted a baby, and hoped it would be healthy.
This ‘culture of convenience’ towards women’s issues just
gets me. Not so much this test, but birth control pills and recently birth control pills that also cure acne. Some
tests suggest they lead to a higher chance of cancer. Something we also know too well.

retro chic
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 08:23 am: [report]

haha, landesign, I was referring to your comment about the article, not about yourself. I agree, most parents-to-be just want a baby. Also, greed of the drug and insurance companies and somewhat the med community are what drive the artificially created market for these multitasking pills, not women. Same for variants on ED drugs.

AgentBeryllium
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 08:32 am: [report]

@ WriterGirl Why the hell would you trust anything from the FDA? They want to make Homeopath Medicine illegal and they create drugs that are more addictive and dangerous than illegal drugs.

Oh yeah I’m totally trusting those guys!

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 08:42 am: [report]

CLUNK! That was me falling off of my soapbox.
Gotta cut down on the java.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 09:06 am: [report]

@landesign - I know marketing gets out of hand with big pharma, but if you’re going on a pill in the first place and have problems with acne, really, what’s the harm in choosing one that will best suit your needs? 

As for the culture of convenience towards women’s issues ... that’s none of your business outside your own interest in your wife’s health and your own shared goals.  Do you really think women shouldn’t be allowed to take birth control?  REALLY?  Your comment reminded me of the weirdest, most sexist thing I’ve ever heard from my father’s mouth, that “women use tampons because they get lazy with their bodies.”

And birth control pills actually lower the risk of *some* cancers as well, so you might want to do a little research before you go spouting off about something that you will never be able to fully understand (given the assumption that you’re male). 

Because believe me, reproductive health is anything but convenient - just as anyone who’s had a pelvic exam, nevermind breakdowns, weight gain, or other nasty side effects from hormonal contraceptives.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 09:53 am: [report]

Well you put me in my place. Keep taking the drugs.
Just do me a favor. Print your comments out, tack them
to the frig to look at years from now.
You sound like someone thirty years ago,
putting all common sense in the toilet, telling people
that you want to smoke, so keep out of your business.
Why is it that when someone doesn’t like someone else’s
opinion, the ‘cisms’ start to fly?

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 09:54 am: [report]

Sorry, no ‘cisms’ there, I meant ‘ist’ as in sexist.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:04 am: [report]

The “sexist” is just what your comment reminded me of.  Note I never actually call you sexist.  But seriously, what do you suggest women do if you are so critical of the options we have?  There has been long-term testing on a lot (not all, I know!) of hormonal bc methods that show they are safe, something that blows your “I’ll smoke if I want, stay out of my business” analogy out of the water. 

And I’m actually not “taking the drugs” anymore.  I just can’t believe how many men think they have the right to run around telling women that they way they choose to take care of their reproductive health is a “culture of covenience” when they will never understand what actually going through any of it is like.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:19 am: [report]

Also, is it not common sense to use the most appropriate tools at your disposal to achieve your goals? 

Judging by your other post, you seem to be more annoyed by the fact that you had to struggle so much to have a baby (congrats, and sorry that you had to go through so much trauma to get what you wanted) when so many people are trying to find the best ways possible to not get pregnant.

If taking bc pills or choosing the most ‘convenient’ method of birth control is really so offensive to you, then how do you feel about in vitro?  Oh wait, you used the tools at your disposal to achieve your goal. 

A super rude person could also take your ‘convenience’ argument and apply it to basically paying for a baby after not being able to conceive naturally, even though we all know that in vitro/adoption/etc, a little bit like finding a birth contrl that works for any given woman, is anything but convenient (not saying the two are directly comparable, I know they’re entirely different animals).

I personally thinking in vitro/artificially impregnating is selfish and just, ick, but you do what you want to build the kind of life that will make you happy, and I’ll do the same for myself.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:23 am: [report]

I’m not telling you to do anything. I’m just putting my
opinion based on my experiences out there. Young ladies
should be able to see the pros and cons of all this stuff.
My Wife and I had to deal with a lot of stuff that she felt
had to do with birth control pills, hormone treatments, etc. You do not even want to know the details.
I assume it is OK to let young women know that these
things do happen and that there are scientists out there
that believe these drugs do have non-beneficial side effects. And I know there are studies that say the opposite. And yes, I think women should be able to use birth control if they want. I also think people should be able to smoke, not wear a helmet on a motorcycle, and run with scissors.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:28 am: [report]

I’m not annoyed by anything except by the vicious tone of
your posts. Methinks you have other issues not mentioned here.

landesign
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:29 am: [report]

Gotta go. Catch me later if you’d like to get your
anger out.

nakedsushi
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 10:49 am: [report]

@joyy… thank you for defending women & our rights! I truly look up to you for your words.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 11:06 am: [report]

Not intending to be vicious, I just can’t stand men running around saying things that sound an awful lot like telling women that they aren’t taking healthcare/major live decisions seriously enough. 

Everyone should know everything they can possibly know about the side effects/etc of any medication they’re taking or considering.  THAT is common sense. Everything comes with risk, that doesn’t mean people should be criticized for doing what they think is best.

And as for my issues, honey we ALL have issues and if you’re picking it up as vicious, that might be part of your own issues as much as any ones I have that might slip through.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 11:10 am: [report]

*life decisions, not live decisions.

theattack
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 11:13 am: [report]

landdesign:
I don’t take birth control anymore, but when I did it gave me an extra push toward the severe major depression I was already falling into. But that’s just that particular combination of hormones. Not every kind is right for everyone, and not even the pill is right for everyone. On my next gynecologist visit I plan on talking with her to find out what’s right for me.

But women live in a world where some men refuse to wear condoms, condoms break, IUDs and other less common types of birth control are expensive and intimidating because it requires installation and many other reasons. Women (especially young women) need something they can rely on and something they can easily stop when they want to, and something they can afford. Yes, maybe that’s part of your world of convenience, but we definitely NEED that convenience in today’s fast paced society. We need to have options at our fingers.
My mom takes birth control for something OTHER than a contraceptive. She takes it for other health reasons that have developed, requiring those extra hormones. And yes, there’s the acne point too. At her age, she is taking a risk by taking it, but the benefits outweigh the risks in her situation.
When I first read your comment, I thought you meant that you didn’t support the availability of birth control. But I have the feeling that you didn’t mean that, and that you only meant to state another risk, which is useful information.

The topic of gender testing is an interesting one. I don’t think it matters what gender your baby is anyway, and I plan on waiting to find out until I’ve already had my future babies. I don’t want to treat my children differently just because of their gender, and I don’t want anyone else to buy my child blue and pink outfits to form their identities.
BUT this is a good thing to have for those couples that are interested in knowing. Babies that have prenatal care fare must better than those who don’t, but not all women can afford those doctors visits to find out. Unfortunately, poor women without insurance don’t receive the care they or their baby needs with our health care system, and they deserve options too. Really they deserve available health care, but this is a good option to have until they have that.

joyy
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 11:20 am: [report]

@theattack - I wish people weren’t so intimidated by IUDs, though they def aren’t for *everyone*.  I also stopped taking the pill after 3 years of use because I realized it was also having negative psych side effects on me (also prone to depression as well).  So far, the iud seems like one of the smartest decisions in my life, and my usually not too impressive insurance is coughing up 80% of the cost, which makes it super cost effective. 

If you’re having a conversation with your dr about switching bc, it might be worth the few extra minutes to ask about iuds, even if just to learn a little more because if you’re a ‘candidate’ for one, it’s a pretty nice option.