Choosing of baby's gender forbidden in Singapore
By Teoh Song Keng and Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 October 2008 1745 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Modern science can assist parents in choosing their unborn baby's gender.

But selecting the gender of one's unborn baby is not allowed in many Asian countries, including Singapore, except under exceptional conditions.

These include the higher likelihood of a child inheriting certain blood disorders or mentally subnormal conditions, due to gender.

Associate consultant at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of Singapore General Hospital, Dr Hemashree Rajesh, said, "If the parents probably have a strong history of the condition and are worried about that for the baby... In such cases, gender selection is allowed, but by right you cannot choose which sex of the baby you want to have."

Thus, some people pin their hopes on beliefs like consuming more red meat and potato chips, which are high in sodium and potassium, to yield baby boys.

But the downside - too much sodium and potassium can be bad for one's health.

It is believed that a high amount of sodium and potassium makes the environment favourable for the male sperm, which carry the Y chromosome, to fertilise the egg much faster than the female sperm.

Another popular belief suggested by an American doctor in a medical journal, is that baby boys are more likely to be conceived two to three days before and during the time a woman ovulates.

However, Dr Hemashree says it is already hard enough for some couples to have a baby, let alone conceive a boy, so her advice is to let nature takes its course.

- CNA/yt