Your Unborn Baby’s Gender

Some parents do not want to know if they are having a boy or a girl until it is time to give birth. But for others, curiosity is hard to ignore. Many parents are so eager to know the gender early on they buy testing kits online, examine the mother’s dietary habits for clues, or even consult a psychic.

Let’s explore the effectiveness of some of these testing methods and uncover the ones that might be accurate.  

Other than culture based superstitions and beliefs, there are many myths about gender testing that appear to be universal. You may have heard the theory that a low-hanging belly indicates you’re carrying a boy, while a high or wide belly indicates you’re carrying a girl. This is incorrect. How high or low the belly is depends on the mother’s muscles and the position of the baby, not its gender.

Additionally, a mother’s craving for sweets does not mean she’s having a boy, nor does a mother craving sour food does mean she’s having a girl. The mother’s cravings are not an indication of the baby’s gender. Though what you eat while pregnant can make your baby partial to those same foods when he or she is born, while in the womb the baby has no effect on the mother’s food preferences. Pregnancy cravings are mostly caused by changing hormones as well as an increased sense of smell.

Other common myth based practices include hanging your wedding ring from a strand of hair over the belly, consulting the lunar cycle and other superstitious methods.  There is no medical evidence to back up any of these theories.

Ultrasound is one accurate way to predict whether you’re having a girl or a boy. It can reveal the baby’s gender as early as 11 weeks into the pregnancy. However, there is up to a 40 percent chance that the result is wrong. By having an ultrasound at 18 to 20 weeks, the accuracy of the result rises to 80 to 90 percent. The baby’s position during the ultrasound is key in discovering the result. Predictably, it is easier to see if the baby is a boy. Ultrasound is also used to detect any anomalies with the fetus.  

Amniocentesis is process wherein a needle is used to remove a small amount of amniotic fluid from inside the uterus. The test is usually conducted at around 11-13 weeks into the pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a procedure performed mostly on mothers who are older than 35 years of age. The test is not risk free and it is not performed simply to discover the baby’s gender. It is mainly conducted to examine the baby’s genetic abnormalities, especially in cases when the  parents have a history of genetic disorders in the family. The test can help identify many birth defects, including hemophilia and Down Syndrome.  It has a high percentage rate for accurately determining the baby’s gender.

Determining the baby’s gender by using DNA testing is a highly accurate method, especially when the test is conducted further along in the pregnancy. NIPT is available from as early as nine weeks of pregnancy and requires only a blood draw from the mother. Unlike the more traditional methods of amniocentesis and CVS, NIPT poses no risk of miscarriage. It also offers a higher rate of accuracy in detecting certain genetic conditions in an infant’s DNA, especially the trisomy of Down Syndrome, Patau Syndrome and Edwards Syndrome. It is the screening method which is proving more and more beneficial in checking your unborn baby’s health.  

Blood, urine and DNA gender testing kits bought online are not recommended. It is better to consult your doctor and choose a testing method which is supervised within a hospital environment.

References.

1.  NIFTY Test. Available from http://www.niftytest.com. Accessed on June 8, 2015.
2.  Panorama Test. Available from http://www.panoramatest.com/en. Accessed on June 8, 2015.
3. Predicting Your Baby’s Gender. Available from: http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/predicting-baby-gender?page=4. Accessed on January 3, 2016.
4. Finding Out Your Baby’s Sex. Available from: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-baby/gender-prediction/finding-out-babys-sex/. Accessed on January 3, 2016.
5. Amniocentesis. Available from http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/amniocentesis. Accessed on January 3, 2016.
6. Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS). Available from: http://www.webmd.com/baby/chorionic-villus-sampling-cvs. Accessed on January 3, 2016.

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