Boy or Girl

Boy or girl? Get an ultrasound.

Medically acknowledged tests are considered the surest way to know if you are having a boy or a girl. There are basically 2 different tests you can take during your pregnancy to tell: an ultrasound or genetic test.
Ultrasound

Fortunately, an ultrasound can give a fairly dependable answer and since it is a commonly prescribed, non-invasive procedure, it is very likely you can find out, if your want, the sex of your baby.

On the other hand, unfortunately, an ultrasound usually cannot tell your baby’s sex early in the pregnancy, so you may have to be patient. Most medical professionals will have you take an ultrasound exam between the 20th and 24th week to make sure the baby is healthy. At that time the technician may be able to see the baby’s genitalia to tell if it is a boy or a girl. The sonologist or sonographer actually looks to see the penis and scrotum to tell if it’s a a boy or for a labia in the case of a girl.

You may not be able to find anything recognizable while you watch the monitor, but your technician should know what to look for and is often able to tell you if it’s a boy or a girl.

However, not every tech is skilled and not every ultrasound scan provides a clear picture. This is what you should know about the results.

• The baby’s sex is detectable by about 20 weeks, sometimes as early as week 16, and with very modern equipment, even as early as 11 to 12 weeks.
• On the other hand, if the baby if positioned in a funny way, abdominal wall is thick or the amniotic fluid very thick, if may be difficult to tell the baby’s sex in an ultrasound.
• The absence of the penis does not mean a girl. An experienced technician should know to actually look for the baby’s genitalia to tell for sure.
• You can see the genitalia of a girl. A good technician can make out the outline of the labia. The 3-lines sign which denotes the labia in the fetus is a very valid and accurate indication of the female gender.
• The accuracy of determining the baby’s sex in an ultrasound is somewhere between 95 and 100% at 20 weeks or beyond, when the operator can see the baby’s sex.
• A vaginal ultrasound is not necessarily more accurate than an abdominal ultrasound. With the less-commonly performed transvaginal ultrasound, a narrow transducer has a protective cover and lubricant placed in it, and it is inserted in the vagina to scan the ovaries and uterus. Since the transducer may get closer to the target area, this scan can provide better detail. But the viewpoint is more limited than an abdominal scan, so this type of scan may or may not provide information about the sex.

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