Finding out the gender of your baby is an exciting moment, and in recent years, having a gender reveal party to announce the sex of your baby has become increasingly popular. If you’re expecting and are looking for unique and exciting ways to announce the sex of your baby, you’re in the right place!
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Back in February last year, a debate about choosing your baby’s gender was sparked by Chrissy Tiegen and John Legend revealing that they chose for their baby, Luna, to be born a girl. Understandably, this led many parents-to-be to question how this was possible and if they could do the same.
To answer the question: yes, choosing your baby’s gender is now possible due to the introduction of Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). However, this only becomes an option to couples under certain circumstances. The gender selection procedure only becomes available to couples who want to avoid passing sex-linked genetic disorders onto their children, such as haemophilia in males and Rett syndrome in females.
That said, in rare cases, gender selection becomes available to parents who wish to ‘balance’ their family by having a child of each gender. Hormone tests are run to check the client’s fertility, and age limits may be applied. Some clinics will not consider clients unless they are married or already have at least one child of the opposite sex they’re trying for.
Methods of Gender Selection
The most accurate methods of choosing your baby’s gender can be very expensive and typically mean the mother-to-be has to undergo invasive infertility treatments, alongside taking fertility drugs with potential side effects.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of the main procedures which allows gender selection. IVF is a method of fertilisation outside of the womb, starting with a round of fertility drugs which help your ovaries create more than the natural amount of eggs (typically one per month). In an IVF procedure, the patient is placed under anaesthetic before the doctor inserts an ultra sound probe through the vagina to check the ovaries and follicles. A thin needle is then inserted through the vagina wall to remove the eggs from the follicles.
The next step is for the extracted eggs to be fertilised in a Petri dish. Once the eggs become embryos after 3-5 days, they are inserted back into the patient’s uterus. If you’re younger than 35 and your embryos are healthy, no more than two are usually transferred.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Preimplantation Genetic Screening
The baby gender selection process happens during the IVF procedure, where one or two cells are removed from the embryo and tested for genetic or chromosomal disorders. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) can be used to screen the embryos and predict the baby’s gender. Parents who are hoping to avoid gender-linked disorders usually opt for PGD as the test exposes any underlying conditions the baby may have. By changing the gender of the baby, the prospective parents hope to avoid this disorder.
Preimplantation Genetic Screening is typically used by patients to check if their baby has down syndrome, or are hoping to ‘balance’ their family. Both tests are almost 100% accurate at determining the gender of the baby, and any remaining embryos are frozen so they can be used in the future if the couple decides to make more children.
The advancement of science truly is something to marvel at, but as these methods can be expensive and invasive, waiting to find out the gender of your child can be just as exciting. Wondering what your baby will be is one of the most magical parts of carrying a child and the long awaited day of the gender reveal is a milestone in the pregnancy. Here at First Encounters, we offer gender scans from just 16 weeks, so you don’t have to wait too long either.
Expectant parents are often very keen to discover the gender of their unborn baby, and understandably so - knowing the gender is one of those things that really helps you to feel closer to your little bundle of joy. The people who come to our clinics for
gender scans frequently tell us that the baby seems a lot more 'real' to them once our sonographer has revealed whether it's a boy or a girl, and besides, finding out the sex is a nice little milestone to get excited for when the birth itself still seems a long way off.
With all of that in mind, it's easy to see why mums-to-be and dads-in-waiting might want to attend a gender scan as soon as possible. However, attend a gender scan too early in your pregnancy and it may be impossible to accurately identify the gender - a foetus doesn't develop sexual characteristics until a few weeks in, and nothing conclusive will actually be visible on an ultrasound scan until a little while after that.
What's the earliest I can have a gender scan?
Here at First Encounters Ultrasound we don't offer any gender confirmation scans before 16 weeks gestation. Other scan providers may offer slightly earlier scans, but we would strongly recommend that you do not attend a baby gender scan until at least the 16-week mark. Any earlier, and your baby probably won't have developed sufficiently for accurate gender identification.
Is it worth waiting a little longer?
While we're happy to provide gender scans from 16 weeks onwards, it's worth bearing in mind that not all babies develop at the same speed. Very occasionally, someone will come in for gender confirmation at 16 weeks and the sonographer still won't be able to find positive visual confirmation of the baby's sex. In these cases, we'll usually offer a complimentary re-scan at a later date (we'll never guess the gender if we're not confident in our prediction!) but to avoid disappointment, you may wish to wait an extra few days just to make sure that your baby has developed to the point where we're able to identify the gender.
As you're probably aware, we offer a variety of different baby gender scans here at First Encounters Ultrasound.
Countless parents have visited our clinics in the hope of discovering their unborn baby's gender - some do it so that they can decide on an appropriate name, while others ask to learn the gender in advance because they simply can't wait for the birth!
If you're thinking of getting a gender scan, you may well be wondering how accurate gender scans are, and how sure the sonographer will be when he or she reveals the gender of your unborn child.
How accurate are baby gender scans?
The answer is 'very accurate indeed', at least as far as we're concerned! Our sonographers are extremely well-trained and generally won't state the sex of the baby unless they're absolutely certain of your baby's gender.
To allow for an accurate gender confirmation, the baby's sex organs must be: a) reasonably fully-formed, and b) visible on the ultrasound scan. Our baby gender scans are available from 16 weeks onwards; we cannot confirm gender before this point for the simple reason that, generally speaking, genitalia are not visibly formed until around the 16-week mark!
Once you've reached 16 weeks gestation, our ability to predict your child's gender depends on their position inside the womb. Every so often, an expectant mother will come in for a gender scan only to find that her little one is resting in a position that makes it difficult for us to get an accurate idea of their sex. On these occasions, we ask the mother to take a brief stroll so as to get the foetus moving; we will then re-commence the gender scan, hopefully with more success.
What if we're unable to confirm your baby's gender?
It's a very rare occurrence, but if we can't tell what sex your baby is even after you've been for a walk, we will happily offer you a complimentary re-scan on a date that suits you. As previously mentioned, we will NEVER 'just guess' your baby's sex; if your gender scan proves inconclusive, you will be told as much by your sonographer. We have a reputation to uphold here at First Encounters Ultrasound, and so we will only ever tell you what we see on the scan - nothing more, nothing less.
Any other questions? Get in touch with a member of the First Encounters Ultrasound team today!
'What sex is my baby?' is a question that we hear from a lot of expectant parents, but not everyone is interested in hearing the answer to that question - in fact, many of the people who come to us a for a pregnancy scan specifically ask not to be told their unborn baby's gender.
The Find Out or Wait? debate is one that's caused a lot of arguments. Many people can't imagine why anyone would want to delay the big reveal; others can't imagine why anyone would want to spoil the surprise ahead of time. Sometimes, even the parents themselves can't agree - one will want to find out right away, while the other will want to wait until the birth date!
Then, of course, there are the people on the fence. If you're reading this blog post, you may well be one of them. The question on your mind isn't 'What sex is my baby?' but 'Should I find out the sex of my baby?'
Today, we're going to help you decide. Here are some of the most common arguments for and against finding out:
- For: You'll be able to pick a name sooner! Finding out your baby's sex instantly allows you to eliminate 50% of the names you're considering. You won't have to worry about choosing between 'Lily' and 'Ivy' if you already know that you're having a boy!
- Against: You'll ruin the surprise! Finding out whether you're the parent of a boy or a girl is one of the biggest and best surprises you'll ever experience, and many people (including the author of this Huffington Post article) say that the surprise is all the better when you find out in the delivery room.
- For: You get to tell all your friends and relatives! Your nearest and dearest are sure to be itching for updates on your pregnancy, and they'll be thrilled if they can find out the baby's gender ahead of the birth. You can even give them our Gender Reveal Cards to make it even more exciting!
- Against: You'll end up with loads of pink/blue stuff! You may be able to resist the temptation to buy loads of colour-coded, gender-specific products for your baby after finding out the results of your gender scan, but that doesn't mean your friends and family won't do it for you. If you want to avoid the 'sports for boys/princesses for girls' stereotypes, leaving the gender unknown can be a good way to do so.
- For: You won't be disappointed on the day! If you have your heart set on a specific sex for your unborn baby, it may be a good idea to find out in advance - that way, if it's not the gender you were hoping for, you'll have time to get over your disappointment and get excited all over again for the boy/girl that you're actually having!
- Against: You won't be disappointed on the day anyway! The aforementioned Huffington article points out that, even if you were hoping for one gender or the other, that won't matter on the big day - any disappointment will be washed away by the excitement and joy of becoming a parent!
- For: You'll feel closer to your baby! Many expectant parents find that knowing the gender helps them to feel closer to their baby during the pregnancy. After all, it's easier to visualise your future child when you know whether that child is a boy or a girl.
- Against: The sonographer might get it wrong! The 'wait and see' camp love to make this point, and it's true that no gender scan is 100% infallible. That said, our sonographers can accurately identify the gender in the vast majority of cases, and if the baby's position makes it difficult for us to know for sure, we'll tell you so - we never just guess! Furthermore, we will show you the evidence for our decision on a large plasma screen during your appointment, so you won't just have to take our word for it.
Whether you want to find out your baby's gender or not, we at First Encounters Ultrasound are the people to call for your pregnancy scan. Note that gender is always depicted using traditional 2D ultrasound technology (even when a gender scan is included as part of one of our 4D packages); since gender is not visible on a 4D scan, you are not obliged to find out the gender if you get a 4D ultrasound session.
If you do want to find out your baby's gender, we have a variety of options to choose from. Gender can be ascertained from 16 weeks (we do not recommend booking a gender scan before the 16-week mark, as this greatly reduces the accuracy of the results). The cut-off point for a gender scan is 34 weeks maximum; after this point, a gender scan cannot be performed due to the size of your baby.
Zoe and Antony found out the gender of their baby at their 16 week scan, check out our Scans Throughout Pregnancy page to hear their story!
Browse our Scan Packages now to book your gender scan with First Encounters Ultrasound. If you have any further questions, feel free to give us a call on 02920 732671.
