Jill Beck*, a 30-year-old mother of three girls, has always wanted a son. She and her husband, a doctor of genetics, went to a Midwestern Sperm Center that uses the Ericsson Method. Beck found "the stress level [of assisted sex selection] to be enormous at times. Particularly charting ovulation cycles, then the semen collection process was not fun, then waiting for a positive pregnancy test, then waiting for the ultrasound to see if it was a boy."

But her efforts paid off quickly: Beck got pregnant on her first attempt. She and her husband are expecting a son in May. Beck has only positive things to say about the staff at her clinic and about head honcho Dr. Ericsson, who she says is very helpful. "I e-mailed him and also got to speak to him, and he was great at answering questions and giving feedback," she says. And here's more good news: The entire process cost Beck only $500.

Before her successful pregnancy at a reproductive clinic, Anne Kent*, a 38-year-old mother to four sons, spent $3,300 at a licensed Ericsson Sperm Center but never conceived.

In 1998, scientists at the Genetics and IVF Institute in Fairfax, Va., patented a mechanical sperm sorter to help couples conceive a child of their desired gender. Women hoping for a girl may augment the process with Clomid. After the "Xs" and "Ys" are sorted, a procedure called fluorescent in situ hybridization, or FISH, stains individual sperm to determine the amount of the preferred type. Using the MicroSort technology, couples have a 90 to 92 percent chance of getting a girl and a 72 percent chance of getting a boy. The procedure is offered at the GIVF Institute and through collaborating physicians elsewhere. Each attempt costs about $3,200. On the average, couples take three tries to get pregnant.

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