Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on April 9, 2009
Human Reproduction 2009 24(7):1665-1669; doi:10.1093/humrep/dep080
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sex preference and interest in preconception sex selection: a survey among pregnant women in the north of Jordan
1 School of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, PO Box 3030, Irbid, Jordan 2 Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan 3 Faculty of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan 4 Centre for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
5 Correspondence address. E-mail: alakour{at}just.edu.jo
BACKGROUND: Preconception sex selection for non-medical reasons is a controversial issue in bioethics. Little research has described preferences for preconception sex selection among Arab populations. This study describes the sex preference and interest in employing sex selection techniques among pregnant women in northern Jordan.
METHODS: A self-reported questionnaire was administered to 600 pregnant women in Irbid, Jordan. 
2 test and binary logistic regression were used to examine the factors associated with interest in preconception sex selection.
RESULTS: In general, the interest in using sex selection was low. Women who preferred boys were more likely to be interested in sex selection, if paid for by the couple [odds ratio (OR) = 4.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.75–11.11] or by health insurance (OR = 3.42, 95% CI: 1.94–6.06), or, if feasible, administered through oral medication (OR = 8.84, 95% CI: 5.05–15.63). Women with lower education were more likely to be interested in sex selection, if paid by health insurance (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.10–3.45) and were more likely to believe that sex selection is legal (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.06–2.86). Women who had no boys were more likely to be interested in sex selection, if paid by health insurance (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.10–3.42) or, if feasible, through medication (OR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.82–5.00).
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of participants were not in favor of using preconception sex selection. Those with a preference to have boys, with lower education, and those with an imbalanced family were more likely to be interested in using sex selection technology.
Key words: preconception sex selection/sperm sorting/sex preferences/sex ratio distortion/Jordan
Submitted on November 18, 2008; resubmitted on March 3, 2009; accepted on March 5, 2009.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
Related articles in Hum. Reprod.:
- Editor's Choice
- André Van Steirteghem
Hum. Reprod. 2009 24: 1531.[Extract] [Full Text]