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How to Determine the Sex of Your Baby by Ultrasound

Use an ultrasound to determine your baby's gender.

If you want to find out the sex of your baby before you enter the delivery room, you are not alone. Though chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis are sometimes used to determine gender, most couples will learn the baby's gender through an ultrasound. In some cases, your baby's sex is quite obvious from the ultrasound. In other cases, however, it takes a trained eye. Determining gender by ultrasound isn't 100 percent effective, but it can give you a good idea whether you are carrying a boy or a girl.

Step 1

Tell the ultrasound technician you want to know your baby's gender. If you want to take a stab at guessing yourself, though, ask her to hold off on telling you once she displays the genitals on screen.

Step 2

Wait for the ultrasound technician to find your baby's genitals. Depending on your baby's position, this can be difficult to do.

Step 3

Look for the telltale signs of a boy or girl. If you are carrying a boy, you may see the shape of a penis and testicles. If you are carrying a girl, you will see two lines and a dot--the labia and clitoris.

Step 4

Confirm your guess with the technician. She'll be able to tell you whether you are correct or help you out if you cannot see the genitals.

Warnings

  • Babies don't always cooperate with you. Your baby may have his legs crossed or be covering his genitals with his hand.
  • Simply not being able to see a penis doesn't necessarily mean that you're having a girl. You must be able to see the labia clearly to make that prediction.

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About the Author

Maggie McCormick :

Maggie McCormick is a freelance writer that specializes in SEO content. She lived in Japan for three years teaching preschool to young children and currently lives in Honolulu with her family. Her work has appeared on eHow, and she received a BA in women's studies from Wellesley College.

Photo Credit

Pregnant 1 image by Infs from Fotolia.com