How the Baby Gender Test Works
The prenatal test to determine the sex of the baby is based on the detection of the Y chromosome in maternal blood. As the mother naturally does not possess any Y chromosome, the presence or absence of this marker allows for an accurate determination of the fetus's sex:
• Y chromosome detected: the baby is a boy.
• No Y chromosome detected: the baby is a girl.
This simple and non-invasive DNA analysis relies on the circulation of fetal DNA in the mother's blood from the early weeks of pregnancy.
Conditions
The analysis is possible from the 10th week of amenorrhoea, calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period.
The test cannot be performed in cases of twin or multiple pregnancy, cancer, pre-eclampsia, or if the mother has recently received a transfusion, a transplant, or stem cell treatment. It also cannot be carried out if the foetus presents a structural anomaly.
Precautions
To ensure a reliable result, the blood sample must be taken by a female, and no male should handle the tubes before or after the collection to avoid any contamination by the Y chromosome. It is also recommended to be fasting and to adhere to the minimum gestational period, as an insufficient level of fetal DNA may lead to an incorrect result.
When can the test be conducted?
From when can the test be done?
The prenatal test can be carried out from 9 weeks of amenorrhoea (approximately 7 weeks of pregnancy).
The further the pregnancy progresses, the more detectable the foetal DNA present in the mother’s blood becomes.
Plan the blood draw before ordering.
The blood draw must be performed by a healthcare professional of your choice: doctor, laboratory, or nurse.
Send the samples
The analysis must commence within 10 days following the blood draw. Therefore, blood samples should be dispatched on the same day.
