Am I Having A Boy or Girl - What You Should Know About The Ultrasound

There are many ways, both traditional and scientific, of determining if you are having a girl or a boy. Fortunately, an ultrasound can give a fairly dependable answer and since it is a commonly prescribed, non-invasive procedure, it is very likely you can find out, if your want, the sex of your baby.

Unfortunately, it is one of those things an ultrasound cannot tell in your first few months of pregnancy, so you have to be patient. Most medical professionals will have you take an ultrasound exam between the 20th and 24th week to make sure the baby is healthy. At that time the technician may be able to see the baby's genitalia to tell if it is a boy or a girl. The sonologist or sonographer actually looks to see the penis and scrotum to tell if it's a a boy or for a labia in the case of a girl.

While you may not be able to find anything recognizable while you watch the ultrasound on the monitor, a skilled technician knows what to look for and is often able to tell you if it's a boy or a girl. However, not every tech is skilled and not every ultrasound scan definitive. Here are 6 things you should know about the results.

1. Much of the time, the technician should be able to tell the sex of the baby by about 20 weeks, sometimes as early as week 16. Sometimes, with modern equipment, the diagnosis can be made even as early as 11 to 12 weeks.
   
2. On the other hand, if the baby if positioned in a funny way or the amniotic fluid or abdominal wall is very thick if can be difficult or impossible to tell for sure (until the baby is born, of course).
   
3. The absence of the penis is not enough to tell if the fetus is a girl. An experienced technician should know to actually look for the baby's genitalia to tell for sure.
   
4. You can see the genitalia of a girl. Experienced technicians can make out the outline of the labia. The 3-lines sign which denotes the labia in the fetus is a very valid and accurate indication of the female gender.
   
5. An ultrasound can be very accurate. Just how accurate is the diagnosis of fetal gender by ultrasound? At 20 weeks or beyond, somewhere between 95 and 100%, when the operator can see the baby's sex. How often can an operator tell the sex at all? Based on one ultrasound during the pregnancy, this is more in the 70 - 75% range.
   
6. A vaginal ultrasound is not necessarily more accurate than an abdominal ultrasound. With the less-commonly performed transvaginal ultrasound, a narrow transducer has a protective cover and lubricant placed in it, and it is inserted in the vagina to scan the ovaries and uterus. Because the transducer may get closer to the target area, this scan can provide better detail. But the view point is more limited than an abdominal scan, so depending on what the doctor is looking for, this type of scan may or may not provide information about the sex.

Ultrascans are hard to read and that's why there are professionals who perform and read them. He or she is the only person to be in the position to tell you just how accurate "that" particular diagnosis is at that particular scan.

But, keep in mind that the baby may not be positioned in such a way where the tech can see--and you just won't know until delivery.