How to find out the gender of the baby? At what time is it possible on ultrasound?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Expecting a baby is an exciting and joyful period. Every visit to an ultrasound is especially exciting, as this is an extra chance to look at your future baby.

Many couples look forward to an ultrasound to find out if they are expecting a son or daughter. It is this diagnostic method that allows you to more accurately establish the gender of the developing fetus. But before the ultrasound, you can determine the sex of the child in other ways.

How soon can you find out the gender of the baby? And how can this be done?

How to find out the gender of the baby?

The most reliable way is ultrasound. But it is carried out at certain stages of pregnancy, and future parents want to find out who will be - a boy or a girl - as soon as possible.

Therefore, most people turn to the help of folk signs that have nothing to do with medicine, but often turn out to be reliable and correctly determine the sex of the baby.

There is another way to determine gender -invasive.

Folk omens

Ultrasound appeared recently, but the desire to know the sex of the unborn child has always been. Therefore, people showed remarkable observation, noting the characteristic signs for the future boy or girl.

For example, the following signs indicate that a pregnant woman is expecting a girl:

• always want sweets;
• the first weeks are accompanied by severe toxicosis;
• pigmentation appeared on the abdomen in the form of spots or stripes;
• a lot of acne appeared on the face;
• weight is skyrocketing;
• the shape of the abdomen is round, and he himself is raised;
• mood changes constantly;
• HR over 130 bpm;
• it's more comfortable to sleep on your right side.

These signs are used even now. And they also say that if a girl is expected, then the appearance of a woman worsens, because her daughter takes away her beauty.

The following observations indicate that a boy is expected:

• a woman does not suffer from toxicosis;
• Pointed belly;
• from food I want meat and dairy;
• feet are constantly cold;
• pulls for s alty;
• on the stomach, legs and face appears increased, sometimes dark vegetation;
• sleep more comfortably on the left side;
• swelling of the legs appears.

How long does it take to find out the sex of a child by folk signs? Virtually anyone, from the moment of conception.

You can also find out the sex of the child by the date of conception, you just need to knowher as accurately as possible. Knowing the date of conception, you can also know the time of blood renewal, and this information will give a probable result.

Invasive Methods

You can find out the sex of a child whose term is not yet long, using three invasive methods. Their essence lies in the study of the collected biomaterial and the determination of chromosomes in DNA. If XX chromosomes - then the gender is female, if XY - then male.

Invasive methods are:

1. Amniocentesis. It consists in collecting a small amount of amniotic fluid for a period of 16-18 weeks.
2. Cordocentesis is the removal of a blood sample from the umbilical cord.
3. Chorionic villus biopsy - taking villi from the placenta at 10-12 weeks.

But the listed methods are not safe for the baby. They can lead to his death. Therefore, they are resorted to only in extreme cases associated with genetic diseases.

Need for ultrasound during pregnancy

Ultrasound is a necessary diagnosis during pregnancy, which allows you to see not only the development of the fetus, but also its gender. This is the only way to determine sex today, which is highly accurate. But it is possible at certain stages of pregnancy.

Some parents are told the baby's gender as early as the first trimester, and for some it remains a mystery until the third. And the point is not in the development of the child, but in its placement inside. That is, it can be so grouped in the mother's stomach that no ultrasound can discern its gender.

Formation of the fetal reproductive system

Until the endthe first trimester, the child's organs are just being laid. The same applies to the reproductive system. Its germ - the genital tubercle - is the same for both boys and girls, so at this time the doctor can only give an approximate answer.

By the end of the first trimester, or rather at week 12, the differentiation of the sexual organization begins. If the growing child is a boy, then the level of testosterone in his body rises, and the genitals develop. If the fetus is a girl, then by and large her reproductive system remains the same as it was at week 8.

What affects the formation of sex?

Some factors can influence the formation of the sex of the unborn child. Knowing this, a couple planning a baby can "choose" the sex of their unborn child.

1. Age of parents. It is believed that if the father is older than the mother, then a boy is more likely to be born, and vice versa.
2. The season. A couple is more likely to have a son if conception occurs between September and November. If it happened in the spring-summer period, then a girl will be born.
3. Mom's food. Doctors prescribe a special diet for the expectant mother 4 months before the day of conception. After conception, it is stopped. So, if the desire of a potential mother is the birth of a son, then her diet must contain: fish, potatoes, mushrooms, beans, pasta, s alty foods, peaches, bananas, teas and fruit juices. If there is a desire to give birth to a girl, then the diet should consist of: dairy products, cereals, onions, peppers, tomatoes, fresh fish, crayfish, nuts, honey,chocolate, cocoa and citrus juice.
4. The temperament of a woman. It is believed that if the expectant mother has a strong, energetic and self-confident character, then her first child will be a son. This is due to the predominance of testosterone in a woman's body, which "forces" the egg to choose a sperm cell that carries "male" information.

What week can you find out the gender of the baby?

The theory does not refute the fact that the sex of the unborn baby can be found out at 12 weeks. In practice, this is not possible for every woman. Ultrasound diagnostics is carried out (normally) 3 times during pregnancy: once in each trimester. And, as a rule, most often you can accurately determine the sex of the baby already in the second trimester, or rather, at 18-20 weeks.

At the third ultrasound, the doctor only confirms the information about gender obtained at the second diagnosis.

First Screening

The first screening is prescribed for a pregnant woman at 12 weeks of gestation. And only a small number of future mothers can boast that they already know who will be born to them.

In fact, the gender identity of the fetus is laid in the first weeks of its development, but it is impossible to determine it so early by external signs (genital organs), since the genital organs in the first trimester have not yet formed or are just beginning to "loom".

Second ultrasound

The second ultrasound is performed in the second trimester, more precisely at 18-20 weeks. The optimal period is precisely the 20th week. Already toBy this time, the child's reproductive system is fully formed, it only grows as the fetus grows. In fact, all the baby's organ systems are already developed by this time. That is why a baby born at 20 weeks has a huge chance of survival, despite its tiny size and weight.

Therefore, if you are in a position, then be patient and wait for the second ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby. If you were named one gender of the child at the first screening, and at the second they indicated the other, then you should trust the second testimony. Their authenticity will be confirmed at the final ultrasound.

Therefore, to the question "In what week will they find out the sex of the child?" we can confidently answer - to 20.

Can an ultrasound machine make mistakes?

The latest medical equipment - an ultrasound machine - gives accurate information on sex determination (90%). But in 10% the device presents incorrect information. Why is this possible?

1. The first is a short period of pregnancy, literally the first weeks. The first screening, as mentioned earlier, is prescribed at the end of the first trimester, when the reproductive system of the fetus is still infantile, that is, it is not fully developed. Therefore, the probability of error is very high.
2. Child activity. Doctors-diagnostics have already proven more than once that when the ultrasound sensor comes into contact with the belly of a pregnant woman, the child begins to actively move his arms and legs and even roll over. Even a previously calm baby reacts intensively to the apparatus. And this is due to the fact that for the baby's ear in the womb, the sound emitted by the ultrasound sensor is veryloud. Therefore, he tries to dodge so that it does not cause him discomfort. The child can roll over so that he closes his pen or leg with his sexual characteristic. Therefore, even in the third trimester, it is not always possible to consider? boy or girl.
3. Fetal position. The child may roll over to the ultrasound transducer with their back or side. Therefore, it becomes difficult to discern gender. It often happens that a girl child covers her genitals with a pen, leading the doctor to the erroneous opinion that there is a boy in the womb.
4. Insufficient doctor experience. Unfortunately, the possibility of running into an inexperienced doctor is high.

As mentioned above, the probability of error is small, but it exists. And it does not depend on the diagnostic apparatus itself, which now have high accuracy.

3D ultrasound - a modern type of diagnostics

How to find out the sex of a child by ultrasound - figured it out. But the latest technology makes this method even more perfect. This is a 3D ultrasound. This development is still very young, so the debate about what it has more - pluses or minuses, continues to this day. But we can say for sure that the 3D device is good for its "completeness of the image." That is, on the screen, future parents will be able to consider not only the gender of the child, but also the features of his face, as well as the presence of developmental pathologies (if any) in "real time". This is truly a unique achievement in the field of medicine, which gives a 100% result.

You can conduct a study starting from the 20th week. Butmore often it is done in the third trimester, when the fetus is fully formed. It is highly not recommended to do it in the early stages (up to 10 weeks), since the device emits high-frequency ultrasound, which can be detrimental to the developing fetus. In addition, the radiation of the device can provoke the formation of free radicals, which can change the structure of DNA, as well as affect the metabolism of the child.

Conclusion

To overcome your curiosity and not find out the sex of the child until the birth, only a few future parents are capable of. This interest arises from the moment when they find out that replenishment is expected in the family. Someone is just interested in knowing what gender the heir will be in the family, while someone proceeds from rational motives: you need to prepare the room, furniture and children's things in advance according to the gender of the unborn child.

However, you need to be patient and wait for the 6-month pregnancy.