Sex determination in human beings can be described as the process through which an expecting

couple is able to determine whether the child growing in the mother’s womb is a male or a

female. Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS), Amniocentisis and Ultrasound are the three main

processes through which people get to know the fetus’s sex / gender and researches state

that there are a variety of reasons fuelling this trend.

Main Reasons Why Expecting Couples go for Gender Determination Test -

* Deciding what color to paint the nursery
* Telling a dying relative who won’t be alive till the baby’s birth
* Naming the child
* To abort an unwanted child and so on.

Three Main Processes Employed for Sex Determination of Fetus:
Due to the wide misuse of sex determination technique around the world (i.e. to abort

unwanted child that happens to be a girl in maximum cases), gender determination tests have

been banned by many countries such as India. Here’s info about the three main processes

employed for determining the unborn baby’s gender.

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS):

This CVS diagnostic test is normally carried out when the fetus is between eight and 11

weeks old. In few cases, CVS may be conducted as late as 13 weeks. This particular gender

determination test is typically done on people with a high risk of genetic abnormalities and

the results are available between seven to 14 days. There is four per cent miscarriage rate

in Chorionic Villus Sampling diagnostic test. And there is very little possibility too that

the fetus sex it determines may be wrong.

Amniocentisis:

The Amniocentisis diagnostic test for determining the sex / gender of a growing fetus is may

be carried out as early as nine weeks and for diagnostic purposes, usually on 18 weeks

gestation. It carries 1 to1.5 per cent miscarriage risk and one per cent chance of the

occurrence of other pregnancy problems such as infection, premature labor, injury to the

fetus, cord, or placenta, rupture of membranes and so on. Amniocentisis tests take around

two to four weeks time to run. In this process too, there is small chance that the sex it

shows in its report may be incorrect.

Ultrasound:

This test can be done at any stage of the pregnancy to know the fetus’s gender. However, it

is best to have an ultrasound between 18 and 26 weeks. Though this is the most popular or

frequent technique sought by couples to know the fetus’s sex, it is least inaccurate. This

is because how accurate its result is for sex determination purpose depends on different

reasons like the baby’s cooperation, gestational age, technician’s ability and so on.