Curious if it's a boy or a girl? While some parents savor the birth-day surprise, most eagerly await the news to prepare or simply satisfy their curiosity. Typically, this revelation comes at the second ultrasound, between 18 and 21 weeks. But now, there's a faster way.
A groundbreaking study published in the journal Prenatal Diagnosis introduces a simple finger-prick blood test that accurately determines fetal sex as early as 8 weeks into pregnancy.
Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (NIPD) tests like this already exist in the UK, screening for trisomy 21 and two other genetic conditions via maternal blood.
Traditionally, confirming these risks requires amniocentesis, which extracts amniotic fluid cells surrounding the fetus—a more invasive procedure.
Brazilian researchers from the Sabin laboratory tested this on 100 pregnant women, detecting the Y chromosome (indicating male) in finger-prick samples to identify baby boys or girls.
Results were validated against neonatal exams at birth, confirming reliability from the 8th week onward.
One caveat: Surface DNA contamination on the finger could lead to false positives, so proper collection is key.
