If you would like to plan ahead during your pregnancy, you may wish to find out the sex of your unborn baby. Once you know the gender, you can buy appropriate clothing and items for the nursery. However, beware of old wives tales that state you can predict the sex by the way that you are carrying or the heart rate of the baby. Keep in mind that some methods used to determine a baby's sex are not 100 percent accurate and you could be in for a surprise come delivery day.
Step 1
Use an over-the-counter gender predictor test kit. Kits like IntelliGender are sold in pharmacies and can be used as early as 10 weeks to predict sex. The kit requires a urine sample and results take approximately 10 minutes. According to the manufacturer, the accuracy of the test is approximately 82 percent.
Step 2
Make an appointment for your 20 week ultrasound. At about the halfway point of your pregnancy, you will get an ultrasound in order to review the baby's development. Many physical abnormalities can be detected during the ultrasound.
Step 3
Ask the technician to let you know the gender. It is likely that the ultrasound technician will ask you prior to the scan whether or not you want to know the baby's sex.
Step 4
Wait for the technician to scan the baby's genital area. If the technician is able to view the area, she can let you know the gender. If the fetus is not in a good position, you will not be able to find out the sex at this appointment.
Step 5
Find out the sex during you amniocentesis appointment. If you are over a certain age or potential fetal abnormalities are suspected, amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling may be performed. Since these tests examine the chromosomes on the baby, the sex can be accurately determined. During these procedures, a needle withdraws amniotic fluid and it is sent to the lab for analysis. You may need to wait up to a week for the results. At this time, you can request that the sex of the baby be identified.
