The gender of a baby can be found out by different methods at various stages of pregnancy:
- Blood Testing (Prenatal Gender DNA Test): Can determine gender as early as 6 weeks of pregnancy with up to 99.9% accuracy by detecting the presence of a Y chromosome in maternal blood if the baby is male.
- Ultrasound:
- The most common method is an anatomy scan ultrasound, typically performed around 18-22 weeks, with the optimal time at around 20 weeks for reliable gender determination.
* Using the "nub theory," an ultrasound can sometimes predict gender as early as 11 weeks with varying accuracy that improves by 13 weeks.
* Experienced practitioners may be able to guess gender as early as 14 to 16 weeks, but the highest accuracy is usually at the 19-22 week anatomy scan.
- Amniocentesis: Usually performed between 15-20 weeks and can determine gender very accurately but is typically reserved for high-risk pregnancies due to miscarriage risk.
- Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): A blood test that can reveal gender from around 10-11 weeks.
In summary, the earliest reliable gender determination can be done by blood tests from about 6 weeks, ultrasound gender determination is commonly done between 18-22 weeks, and other methods like NIPT or amniocentesis provide early or highly accurate options depending on circumstances.
