Coleen Rooney 'looked into gender selection because she wanted a girl'

Update on 9 October, 2019: Coleen Rooney looking into gender selection abroad has since been revealed by Rooney to be an untrue story, posted by Rooney on a private social media account to find out which of her followers were selling stories to The Sun. Full story here.

Coleen Rooney reportedly looked into gender selection, a controversial treatment which sees doctors examining embryos before implantation.

The 33-year-old has four sons with husband, Wayne Rooney, and it’s said that she flew to Mexico to find out more about the £8,000 treatment.

This process is illegal in the UK unless it’s to prevent a serious genetic condition.

It allows doctors to take a look at the embryos and only implant those of the desired sex back into the womb for implantation.

“Coleen loves her boys more than anything, but she’s never been shy about admitting she would also love a daughter,” a source told The Sun.

The pair are parents to Kai, nine, Klay, six, Kit, three and one-year-old Cass.

The source also said that a girl would “complete the set” but stressed that they’d also be just as content with a fifth boy.

READ MORE: Mum left disappointed after baby gender was revealed

What is gender selection?

Gender selection is a medical procedure called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

It’s a screening which, similar to IVF, allows embryos to be tested before they are implanted. This procedure limits the risk of genetic conditions.

It’s usually only used for women who have had failed IVF, multiple miscarriages or are over the age of 35.

The gender selection part of the procedure is banned in the UK, but it’s not in the US.

Famously, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen picked the gender of their daughter Luna Simone Stephens.

Last year, Danielle Lloyd defended her decision to fly to Dubai for a gender selection procedure after giving birth to four boys.

The model and reality TV star said she was so desperate to have a daughter she will go ahead with plans to travel abroad so that she can select the gender of her next baby.

“It’s always been my dream to have a little girl,” she said. “It’s about having that mix and bringing up a little girl. I know she might not be ‘girlie’ – she probably won’t be with four brothers – but it’s just about having a little mini-me almost.”

READ MORE: Danielle Lloyd to choose sex of next baby

There are fears that being able to select the gender of your child is moving us into the realms of designer babies.

Whilst the selection part of the IVF process is not legal in the UK, there have been reports of couples travelling abroad to determine the sex of their babies in countries where it is legal.

Yahoo UK has contacted Coleen Rooney’s representatives for comment and will update this story once a response has been received.

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