You can find out the sex of your baby at different stages of pregnancy using various methods:
- Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): This blood test can be done as early as 9 to 10 weeks of pregnancy. It analyzes fetal DNA in the mother's blood and can very accurately determine the baby's sex, though its primary purpose is to screen for chromosomal abnormalities
- Ultrasound:
- The earliest ultrasound method using the "nub theory" can attempt to predict sex around 11 to 13 weeks, with accuracy improving from about 70% at 11 weeks to nearly 100% at 13 weeks
* More commonly, the mid-pregnancy anatomy ultrasound done between 18 and 22 weeks is used to determine the baby's sex. This scan is more reliable because the baby's genitalia are more developed and visible
* Some parents have ultrasounds as early as 14 to 16 weeks for gender guesses, but these are less certain and often confirmed later
- More Invasive Diagnostic Tests: Procedures like amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can determine sex with near certainty by analyzing the baby's DNA but are usually done for medical reasons rather than just to find out gender
In summary, the earliest reliable method to find out your baby's sex is through NIPT at about 10 weeks, while ultrasound determination is most commonly and accurately done between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy
