When the pregnancy is confirmed, and once we know that everything is going well, knowing the sex of the baby is usually one of the great concerns of future parents. And although there are those who decide to put up with the desire to know this detail and wait until delivery, most want to know as soon as possible if the baby they are expecting is a boy or a girl.
And it is that for many, knowing the sex of their baby helps them to strengthen their bond, make a first introduction to family and friends, choose their name or buy their clothes, so they wonder impatiently: at what time of pregnancy will I know if Is the baby we are expecting a boy or a girl?
When are the baby’s sex organs formed?
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell. One of the pairs of chromosomes is the one that carries the information related to sex, being XX for women and XY for men. Sex cells only have one chromosome . In the case of women, being XX, the ovules will always be “X”. In the case of man, they can be one or the other, that is, the sperm can be “X” or “Y”.
All embryos (whether genetically female or male) have a bump in the genital area called the genital tubercle . From week 9 of gestation, and throughout the first trimester, this bulge will develop into the penis, in the case of boys, or the vulva, in the case of girls. But – and as we will see later – distinguishing by ultrasound if it is one thing or another will not be possible until later in the pregnancy.
Boys complete the development of their genital organs in the last weeks of pregnancy, with the descent of the testicles into the scrotum. For this reason, babies who come into the world prematurely often have undescended testicles problems that in certain cases must be solved by surgery.
For their part, girls will complete their genital development around week 18 of pregnancy.
Is it possible to influence the sex that the baby will have?
When it comes to talking about the sex of the baby, it is possible to ask oneself, who or what determines if the baby we are expecting will be a boy or a girl? Can the couple influence in any way the sex that their baby will have?
The truth is that there would be two ways to increase the chances of having a boy or a girl :
- On the one hand, by programming sexual intercourse to take place at a certain point in the cycle.
And it is that sperm with a genetic load X are larger, stronger and more resistant in adverse or acidic conditions, but they are also slower. This makes them survive longer. On the contrary, sperm with genetic load Y are smaller, faster and require conditions of minimal adversity, so that although they reach their goal earlier than X, they also die earlier.
Therefore, if a couple has sex on the same day as ovulation, the chances of conceiving a boy are higher, while if they have sex two days before ovulation, the chances of fathering a girl will increase.
- On the other hand, the diet that the mother has before conception not only favors or damages her fertility, but can also influence the sex of the baby she conceives. Thus, studies have determined the influence of alkaline or acidic diets, blood glucose, Omega-6 fatty acids or caloric foods at the time of fathering boys or girls.
It has also been shown that maternal stress at the time of conception could influence the sex of the baby, since there would be almost twice the probability of having a girl. The same would be true for a woman’s blood pressure before conception, as research has determined that a blood pressure of 106 mm Hg would predict a boy, while a pressure of 103 mm Hg would predict a girl.
When can the sex of the baby be seen by ultrasound?
Many mothers look forward to knowing the gender of their baby at the first trimester or 12 weeks ultrasound. However, it is still too early for the baby’s sexual organs to be seen clearly and for the doctor to distinguish whether it is a boy or a girl.
In those cases in which the woman receives more than one ultrasound per trimester, it may be possible to determine the sex between weeks 14 and 16 , as long as the baby’s posture allows it and the baby is not turning his back to the ultrasound or has legs crossed. Still, it is sometimes so confusing that doctors prefer not to comment on it.
In most cases, it is not until the 20-week ultrasound that the sex of the baby can be confirmed with greater confidence. This ultrasound is one of the most important in pregnancy, as its objective is to identify possible fetal malformations, both serious and mild, as well as to analyze the movements of the baby, the placenta, the amniotic fluid, the heart and the rest of the baby’s internal organs.
In short, it is a special ultrasound that takes longer than the others, so although its objective is not to know the sex of the baby, it is more likely that it will show up and show us if it is a child or a baby. little girl.
Can Ultrasound Prediction Fail?
As we have just mentioned, from week 20, and as long as the position of the baby in the uterus does not obstruct vision, it is possible to determine its sex with great precision, but not one hundred percent . And, although it is not usually common, the image shown by the ultrasound can lead to misunderstandings when it comes to predicting sex, by confusing the child’s penis with the umbilical cord, or if the genitalia are not yet well developed, for example.
Not surprisingly, in Babies and More we have on occasion echoed stories of parents who expected their baby to have a specific sex and on the day of delivery they discovered that the ultrasound had failed.
Other scientific methods to determine the sex of the baby
Although ultrasound is usually the most common method to know the sex of the baby, it is also possible to know it by performing other types of medical tests:
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Maternal blood analysis: consists of extracting a blood sample from the mother to analyze the non-cellular DNA fragments in the plasma, from the fetus. From the seventh week of pregnancy , the presence of these fragments in the mother’s blood are sufficient to evaluate, in more than 95% of cases, if the fetus is a carrier of the Y chromosome (with what would be a male) or not (so it would be a woman)
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Amniocentesis: it is an invasive test that consists of the extraction of amniotic fluid with fetal cells . It is performed to detect congenital problems in the baby, such as Down, Edwards or Turner syndrome, among others, and it also allows us to know the sex.
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Position of the placenta : also known as the Ramzi method (name of the gynecologist who discovered it) is based on the position of the placenta in relation to the fetus to know the sex of the baby even from the first ultrasound. He assures that it is 97% reliable even if the genitalia are not seen, although most doctors are quite skeptical of this theory.
Can the sex of the baby be predicted before the doctor confirms it?
For some families, the desire to know if the baby they are expecting is a boy or a girl is so great that it is difficult for them to wait for the doctor’s confirmation, so they try to find out by using other non-scientific methods.
Thus, the Chinese table, the Mayan table, the lunar calendar or even the cravings of the pregnant woman, become tools that help satisfy the curiosity of future parents , despite the fact that they lack all kinds of reliability and are based only in probabilities and statistics.
The shape of the belly is another of the widespread myths surrounding the prediction of the sex of the baby . And although there are people who really believe that a round gut corresponds to a girl and a beak to a boy, the truth is that the shape of the belly depends on other factors such as the mother’s physiognomy, the size and position of the child. baby inside the womb, implantation of the placenta …
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In Babies and More | Newborn genitalia: what is normal and what is not in babies, Second trimester of pregnancy: these are the changes that you and your baby will experience at this stage, Expecting a male child increases the risk of complications during pregnancy , such as preeclampsia or diabetes
