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https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/moms-visiting-clinics-seeking-male-children-072611867.html
Saudi Arabia – Women Visit Clinics Seeking Male Children
Arab News - In
this file photo, Saudi women and a child walk along a street in Riyadh.
(AFP)
Arab
News – March 17, 2015 - Many Saudi women are obsessed with having
male children in the belief that they are more likely to become breadwinners
and continue the family line, Arab News has found.
These women,
including those who have only had female children, are increasingly heading to
clinics in the hope that doctors can help them determine the sex of their
offspring.
Fawzia Al-Shamakh,
director of the self-development consultation center and psychology and
sociology consultant at Dar Al-Hekma College, said that women doing so are
driven by the mainstream view in the country that male children stand a better
chance of succeeding and supporting their families.
“You will find
that a woman carrying a male fetus is energized with feelings of satisfaction
and dignity.”
There is a
prevailing belief among Saudis that a girl should grow up to take care of the
household and produce babies, while a man has the responsibility of continuing
the family line, she said.
Al-Shamakh said
that Saudi women have the power to change this perception by working and
proving that they are also capable of taking up top positions in all
industries.
Fahd Salman, a
consultant in obstetrics, gynecology, infertility and in vitro fertilization,
said that the sex of a baby is determined by the chromosomes of its parents.
There is no method that can guarantee success, he said.
The previous genetic
implantation method appears to be the most effective, but it also has a low
success rate. This procedure is available at many hospitals and fertility
clinics in the Kingdom, he said.
Mazen Bishara, an
obstetrics, gynecology and infertility consultant in Jeddah, said there is
great demand in the Kingdom for these procedures, in comparison with other
countries. Many people believe that a skilled doctor is capable of determining
the sex of a baby, he said.