What To Know About An Early Gender Test

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By Yhordan Serpentini | April 12, 2022

Receiving a gender test has never been easier and earlier than ever before. The excitement that rushes through you as you’re finally getting close to finding out if you are having a baby boy or baby girl can be incredible, but it is also important for you to know your options. In today’s blog, we will look into early gender tests, including what they are, what types of tests are available, as well as the pros and cons of each test type.

Early Gender Test

What Is An Early Gender Test

Early gender tests are prenatal medical tests that aim to provide parents with the answer to the most commonly asked question: is it a boy, or a girl? There are several testing kits available for determining the sex of your baby in the comfort of your home–though it tends to be less reliable and accurate than laboratory tests.

Types of Early Gender Tests

There are two main categories for early gender tests: screenings, and diagnostics. Screening gender tests are mostly through bloodwork, prenatal screening for cell-free DNA, or an ultrasound–which is what you are most likely familiar with if you are foreign to gender tests. Diagnostic early gender tests involve performing prenatal tests to determine if your fetus has certain abnormalities or birth defects, of which some can be caused or influenced by their sex.

Additionally, you have the option of receiving invasive or non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPTs) to determine your baby’s gender and likelihood of abnormalities and/or birth defects. NIPT in itself is a screening test performed through bloodwork primarily for screening Down Syndrome, chromosomal issues, and other conditions.

Invasive prenatal tests, on the other hand, can not only determine the gender of your baby incredibly accurately but also is used to diagnose certain birth defects or genetic abnormalities–most regularly performed through either an Amniocentesis or a Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS). An amniocentesis test involves removing and testing a small sample of cells from the amniotic fluid–the fluid that surrounds the baby in your uterus. A CVS test involves collecting small samples of cells from the chorionic villi through a syringe injection from the surface of your skin to the placenta.

Pros and Cons of Non-Invasive Early Gender Tests

There are many benefits of having an early gender test; however, there are several risk factors that may apply depending on which procedure you undergo. NIPT involves the most amount of benefit as it is non-invasive, a simple blood draw which is a regular occurrence during a prenatal checkup, there are no risk factors for the safety of either you or your baby, its available as early as 9 to 10 weeks of pregnancy, faster results, can determine your baby’s (or babies’) sex, and no need for scheduling.

The cons of NIPTs are that the results can be unreliable or inaccurate at times–though not common–and there is a requirement for a follow-up diagnostic test to confirm said results, as well as the fact that it is NOT a conclusive test since it is a screening test rather than a diagnostic test–meaning that the results don’t 100% indicate for sure whether your baby may have any chromosomal conditions, and vice versa.

That being said, the negative results of NIPTs are incredibly accurate, having less than a 0.5% chance of inaccuracy for Down Syndrome, a 2.3% chance of inaccuracy for Trisomy 13, and a 4.9% chance of inaccuracy for Trisomy 13. The positive results are far less accurate, having a 17% to 67% chance of being false-positive for Trisomy 21 (Miles, 2022).

Other factors that may alter results are obesity, pregnant with multiples (twins, triples, etc.), are taking blood thinners, or being pregnant as a result of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment. So, although it isn’t guaranteed, it’s still very safe to assume that your baby may be in good health if your results come back negative, or if your pregnancy isn’t any of the listed factors.

Pros and Cons of Invasive Prenatal Tests

For invasive prenatal tests, there are more accuracies at the cost of several risk factors. Invasive tests are conclusive since they are diagnostic tests, but outside of the inconvenience of scheduling the procedure, the biggest risk is that there is a small chance of miscarrying during, or as a result of, an amniocentesis or CVS test.

Need a fast and reliable early gender test? Visit our Lab Tests page to book your Early Gender (Peekaboo PRO) appointment and get your sample collected for testing; track your reports online and get notified when your reports are done, typically within 3-5 days.

Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to be medical advice

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