Bloodwork to determine baby's sex?

Question

I'm hearing from more people that they did bloodwork to determine if baby was a boy or girl. I'm just not  sure why if that's an option, do people have the ultrasounds which aren't as accurate? Anyone know about this?

Husband wants to find out like tomorrow and I keep telling him it's way too early for ultrasound or bloodwork lol. But we're obviously excited to find out!!

Answer

We did it. We did genetic testing and that was part of it at 9 weeks, so we opted to find out. Being high risk has perks I suppose

Answer

It's not just "get some blood drawn, know the sex". It's just one of the things they find out during genetic testing, along with wether or not they THINK the baby MIGHT have something wrong. I refused the genetic testing {which isn't a big deal because I'm 19 and not high risk or with a family history of anything but diabetes} because I didn't want to worry myself if the test came back saying she MIGHT have downs or something else. It wasn't going to change wether we kept her or not, and it would just make me worry even more for the next 20 weeks.

Answer

My understanding is that it is an invasive test with some risks. People who need the test due to other issues also have to option of finding out the sex. At my office it isn't really even mentioned unless you need it because most people would rather be patient than have unnecessary risk.

Answer

Is this testing a US thing or UK too? Curious to ask the question as I'll fit the bracket for genetic testing due to my age xx

Answer

When you're older, 30's, your doctor strongly suggests genetic testing which also finds out the sex. I had mine done at 11 weeks,  I'm 34 and high risk.... That's why I had the screening done.

Answer

We had it done last week at 18 weeks and are waiting on results. Our ultrasound showed a few concerning things so they want to cover every  base. Hopefully insurance will understand that it's medically necessary so we're not hit with a giant bill. At this point I don't care if it's a girl or boy, healthy is enough for me. I just want to know we won't miscarry this late in the game 😕

Answer

It's genetic testing. It's just blood drawn from you and ten the lab spins it down and gets baby's Dna out of your blood and analyzes it for any chromosome defects. Due to this it can tell you the gender and is 99% accurate. Most insurences won't cover it unless you are high risk. I didn't get it until I had my 20 week scan and baby has some soft markers for Down's. Still waiting for results but we already know baby is a boy. Not sure how much the test cost out of pocket cause our insurence is covering it 100%.

Answer

I was 11 weeks when I went to have my bloodwork done. It is a genetic testing that is becoming more common. It is pretty expensive, but we were lucky enough to have insurance cover it. It took about 2 weeks to get the results back. When we did we found out that the chances of our baby having any genetic mutations was low and we are having a baby boy. I'm 25 weeks today and when we had the anatomy scan at 20 weeks he was still a boy! If you guys are able to have it done, I would go for it!

Answer

The ultrasound is necessary for many other reasons.  They look at the overall anatomy (limbs, organs, shapes, length, functionality, etc.).  The blood test on the other hand tests for other things (not sure what but it can also provide the gender with certainty).  Finding out the gender is not a medical priority, it's a parental preference and so it's not necessary to know 100% if it's a girl or boy.  I would say that makes it optional as opposed to something that is always done.  Cost likely plays a role as well.  I'm not sure how early it can be done but mine was at 16 weeks.  If I'm remembering correctly, others had it done even earlier.  Talk to your doctor, he or she will definitely provide you with more accurate information.

Also, I didn't know about it and I didn't ask for it.  Instead, my doc just randomly asked if I was finding out the gender and then said that he'd write me a script for the test since I was getting other bloodwork done.  Results were back within 2 weeks.

Bloodwork to determine baby's sex?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey