When you discover you are pregnant, one of your first curiosities may be the gender of your baby. There are many myths concerning how you can determine your baby's sex such as carrying the baby low in the abdomen indicates a boy, and slow-growing hair on your legs during pregnancy is indicative of a girl. However, the only way to accurately determine a baby's gender is through ultrasound; amniocentesis, which involves extracting fluid from the amniotic fluid in the womb; and chorionic villus sampling or CVS, which tests cells surrounding the membrane of the embryo. But even with these diagnostic tests, there is a margin of error.
Ultrasound
Step 1
Set up an appointment with your gynecologist to perform an ultrasound between 18 and 26 weeks into your pregnancy, suggests the website, Childbirth.org. With an ultrasound, you can see images of your fetus, formed by sound waves, produced by a transducer that your doctor or a technician moves across your belly, explains the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Step 2
Wear loose pants and with a blouse that buttons in the front or that is easily pulled up to expose your belly for the ultrasound.
Step 3
Relax while the ultrasound is being performed as your mood will affect your fetus. A small layer of gel is applied to your abdomen in order for the transducer to emit the sound waves more accurately, and so that it glides more easily over your skin. It may feel cold at first, but it soon reaches body temperature upon contact with your skin.
Step 4
Wait for the results of your ultrasound. Your gynecologist might be able to determine the gender of your baby immediately, but this depends on the position of the fetus. She may have to print images of the ultrasound to look for gender signs, as the umbilical cord can sometimes be confused with a penis.
Tips and Warnings
- Be aware that determining the gender of your baby through ultrasound is not 100 percent accurate, so leave your choices open in terms of what clothes you are buying and how you are decorating your baby's nursery.
- Both amniocentesis and CVS are invasive procedures that carry the risk of miscarriage, explains the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They are usually performed to test for birth defects and are not recommended only for gender identification.
Things You'll Need
- Loose fitting clothes
- Ultrasound results
