In efforts to ensure they get the child they want, this couple paid a high price — and in some cases, did the unthinkable — to create their version of a perfect family.
“You feel incomplete as a mother until you have a girl,” says Rose Costa. The 37-year-old wife and mother of two teenage boys has always yearned for a daughter and will finally get her wish.
It just comes with a steep price.
Rose is four months pregnant with her daughter and couldn’t be happier. “I love my boys very much and wouldn’t change them for the world, but having a girl is really important to me,” Costa admits. She and her husband, Vincent, elected to undergo IVF treatments to guarantee their third child would be a girl. In a controversial move, Rose had only female embryos transferred to her uterus, KSL reports.
“I know it’s something a bit controversial, but I also know a lot of people, women especially, who have this kind of desire would like to know more about this — how it works and what they could do,” adds Costa.
It’s also alleged the couple used a form of birth control between fertilization treatments to reduce the “risk” of becoming pregnant with a boy.
The Costas’ road to becoming parents of a little girl has been long and extremely pricey. Beginning their journey three years ago, Rose had seven rounds of in vitro fertilization that cost the parents-to-be an estimated $100,000.
“He [Vincent] told me that he knew how much I wanted a girl, so he supported me,” says Rose.
Rose and her husband were able to select the sex of their child thanks to a method called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Doctors who use this procedure typically have high success rates, as these treatments test a woman’s embryos for gender before use.
The concept of gender selection is nothing new. Some couples opt for this procedure if they have a strong family history of a particular disease. Others, however, are willing to pay without having a medical reason. Commonly known as creating a “designer baby,” there are people who see nothing wrong with trying to balance a family. In the case of the Costas, Rose strongly felt she needed a girl.
“Children are being made to order like Prada handbags,” counters Jennifer Lahl, president and founder of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. “It’s the entitlement mentality in overdrive.”
As a mother of two little boys, I can understand where Rose is coming from but don’t agree that moms feel incomplete until they have a girl. In fact, I know plenty who preferred having boys. Regardless, the ability to get pregnant, have a healthy baby and raise a family is a blessing that unfortunately is not afforded to everyone. Should the focus turn away from enjoying what you have to medical intervention that allows you to select what you want?
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