Wannabe moms in Vietnam are hunting for a ‘vaginal gel’ advertised to boost chances of conceiving babies of a specific sex by 80 percent, but doctors are not so convinced.

The product is packaged in boxes of syringes, each containing a gel said to help control a woman’s vaginal pH balance, which is rumored to affect the sex of the baby upon conception.

It is divided into ‘for boy’ and ‘for girl’ lines, made from ‘all natural’ ingredients said to help create an acidic or alkaline environment inside the mother’s vagina.

“All my products are sourced from Japan,” said a woman who runs an online shop selling the items.

“Get the blue one if you want a boy, or the pink one if you want a girl. The price is VND600,000 [US$26] per syringe,” she said.

According to the seller, pumping the gel directly into one’s vagina around ten minutes before sexual intercourse can boost the chance of conceiving a baby of the desired sex by 80 percent.

“Use one to two syringes each time, or even ten if you want because it’s safe. The more you use, the better your chances of success are,” she said.

Illegal practice

“Up until today there has been no scientific evidence to support the claim that any vaginal gel could help select a baby’s sex,” said Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, director of Hung Vuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Neither has the product in question been approved by relevant authorities. Therefore, I strongly advise women against using the gel,” Tuyet stressed.

According to Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University, fertilization is a process where the male’s sperm carrying either the X or Y chromosome enters the female’s eggs.

Generally, the chances of conceiving a girl or a boy are roughly equal, at around 50 percent, she said.

“No intervention can increase the number of sperms carrying the X or Y chromosomes,” she added.

Baby sex selection in any form is illegal in Vietnam, and violators face a penalty of up to VND15 million ($645).