When Do You Find Out the Gender of a Baby

Ever since Amy understood that she was pregnant for the first time, her husband Michael was super-excited to know the sex of her baby. But she was reluctant, since she wanted something to look forward to, after nine long months of pregnancy. Michael's view was that they had to be financially prepared for the baby and also decide for the clothes, toys and nursery decoration. Their opinions were divided, but to fulfill her husband's wish, Amy went in for an ultrasound test in her 19th week and found out the baby was a boy. However, the second time round, Michael had to give in to Amy's wishes and give her something to look forward to.

This can be a story of any home during the prenatal days. Finding out the gender of the baby during pregnancy can help you prepare emotionally and practically, it can be a sound decision. You need to have mutual consensus with your spouse, whether you have to get the gender known or not. Nowadays, there are many questions asked as to when do you find out the gender of a baby and also whether is it right to do so. This article will clear all your doubts regarding how soon can you find out the baby's sex.

When Can You Find Out the Gender of a Baby

Prenatal ultrasound imaging has come a long way since it was introduced in the 1950s. It has been a source to detect all the aspects related to pregnancy. Over 70 percent of the women in USA undertake this test for various reasons. This test can be used to know the gender of the child as well. So, if you are wondering what week do you find out the gender of a baby, the simple answer is that 18 to 22 weeks is considered as an ideal period for finding out the sex of your baby. The chances of an accurate prediction increase as the time period increases. Many couples come to know the gender as early as in the 15th week too. But these cases are few and far in between. If you have controlled your excitement till 15 weeks, you can certainly wait a few weeks more, right! The problem in going for an early detection of gender is that it can lead to disappointment later, if you have received the wrong information of the gender. The difficulties in finding out the sex of the baby before the 18th week are as follows.

• The position of the baby in the womb may not be appropriate to perfectly analyze the genitalia. It is also possible that the baby's legs are crossed or the mother has a thick abdominal wall, making it difficult to find out the sex.
• Babies mature differently, so if your friend finds out the gender of her baby in the 15th week and you are not sure even in the 19th week, don't worry.
• The most important reason for the difficulty is that the ultrasound technologist has to check the presence of either the labia or the scrotum and penis, to determine a girl or boy. These parts are very small and it can be challenging given the fact that the female labia can be swollen, looking like a penis, and the testicles may not have descended into the scrotal sac till that time and may look like a labia.

How to Find Out the Gender of a Baby

The old wives' tale and myths are dated. Nowadays, sophisticated medical procedures have taken over to help you determine the gender of the baby accurately. As we have discussed above, ultrasound imaging is the most common procedure to find out the sex, and it can be more or less accurate between the 18th to 26th weeks. A hand-held device creates a picture of the fetus by passing sound waves through the uterus. There are other two tests, which also help to determine the sex of a baby - Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) and Amniocentesis. In CVS, a small needle or catheter is placed either through the abdomen or through the vagina near the uterus, in order to collect a small sample of placental tissue called chorionic villi. This test is usually done to check if your baby has any chromosomal disorder. In amniocentesis, fluid from the uterus is removed using a needle. This amniotic fluid contains vital genetic information and it can be also used to find the sex.

Now that we have understood when do you find out the gender of a baby and the procedures involved, the question arises whether is it right to do so. A book titled 'The Tentative Pregnancy' by Barbara Katz Rothman details the pros and cons about prenatal genetic testing and diagnosis, and how it changes women's experiences during pregnancy. Knowing the gender before birth can certainly enable you to think, dream about, and become close to the baby. But, a baby's gender should not matter to the parents. Even if you have one boy and want a girl to complete the family or vice-versa, you should not get disappointed if you have two children of the same gender. As Jim Harrison had said, "I don't see gender as the most significant fact of human existence."