Giving birth to a healthy baby is something all new parents want, but for some, all they wish for is a baby girl.
Cutting Edge: Eight Boys and Wanting a Girl follows four women’s plights to conceive a girl, no matter what the circumstances. From attempts at pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in the US, to using old wives tales as part of a meticulously planned reproductive schedule, these women are all psychological sufferers of ‘Gender Disappointment’ (GD), or as one mum puts it, ‘Gender Desire’.
GD is not formally recognised as a medical condition, but it involves longing to conceive a particular sex (in this case, a girl) resulting in many women going through ‘gender swaying’ techniques which include pre-coital preparations, herbal supplements and even vaginal douching with diluted white wine vinegar!
The documentary follows Wendy Bowen, 43, who has given birth to eight sons and, with her biological clock ticking she’s growing steadily obsessed with her dream of having a little girl. Then there is Michelle Priestley, 38, who has five sons and is obsessed with the ‘think pink’. “I am not nutty. I just have this insatiable desire and it won’t be fulfilled until I hold a baby girl in my arms,” says Michelle.
Whether the old wives tales work is questionable, just ask celeb mum, Lisa B!, but if you want to try them out, why not check out MFM’s guide to different conception methods?
Cutting Edge: Eight Boys and Wanting a Girl, tonight, 9pm on Channel 4.
