It's exciting to find out the gender of your baby so you can start picking out baby names and purchasing specific clothing, bedding or nursery decorations. Your baby's external sex genitalia will not begin to develop until around the fourth month of pregnancy. Week 13 marks the beginning of your fourth month of pregnancy, according to KidsHealth, but your doctor may ask you to wait a bit longer to predict the sex of your baby. Some doctors prefer to wait until you are around 18 to 20 weeks pregnant to predict the gender of your little one to get a more accurate reading when the baby's genitals are more visible. Even after you wait until halfway through your pregnancy to find out the sex of your baby, he may turn which can hide his penis or she could have her finger in the way which could appear to be a penis. The only foolproof way to know the gender is to wait until delivery or ask your doctor to perform an amniocentesis.
Step 1
Prepare for the ultrasound. To prepare for your ultrasound, drink two to three glasses of water approximately 60 minutes before the ultrasound and do not urinate until the procedure is over. Performing a full bladder ultrasound is best when it comes to predicting the gender of a baby, according to MedlinePlus. The doctor, ultrasound technician or nurse may ask that you slip into a paper gown for the procedure to prevent ultrasound gel from transferring onto your regular clothing. Your doctor may allow you to wear your regular clothing during the procedure but may ask that you raise your shirt up enough to expose your abdomen.
Step 2
Lie still while the ultrasound is being performed. Your baby will do enough flipping, moving and bouncing to make the technician's job challenging enough. After you're lying completely still, the technician will smear a clear or transparent gel over your lower abdomen and pelvic area as this is where the ultrasound wand will glide around your stomach. The technician will take pictures of your baby as he glides the wand around the lower region of your stomach. Although an ultrasound is painless, you may feel bouts of pressure as the technician is applying pressure to your abdomen while performing the ultrasound. Since you drank so much water, the pressure may give you the urgency to urinate but resist the urge as much as possible. An ultrasound takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The ultrasound gel may feel cold when the technician applies it to your abdomen but certain offices warm the gel with warming equipment to make your experience more comfortable.
Step 3
Ask the nurse or technician if they can predict the sex of your baby. Remember that not all ultrasound technicians or nurses are trained to interpret the images of an ultrasound and are only trained to perform the procedure. Whether the technician, nurse or your doctor supplies you with a prediction of what gender you are carrying, there is a slight chance the sex is wrong.
Tips and Warnings
- Avoid drinking the water more than 1 hour before your appointment to avoid the need to urinate. Save all gift and store receipts in case you would need to exchange clothing or bedding if the reading was misinterpreted.
