The idea of doing a gender test at home to predict baby’s sex is as old as the hills. But can you really? We look at what’s actually possible. Read on!
Before we start, a note on language:
As our understanding of sex and gender evolves, some outdated terminology can be confusing.
Throughout this article, we will be using the word “gender” and “sex” in this context interchangeably (at times), since it is a word most commonly used when talking about a person’s sex, to help people find the information they’re after.
But sex and gender are actually different concepts.
Sex refers to physical characteristics like genitalia and chromosomal makeup.
Gender, however, is a fluid concept that can exist outside the traditional binary roles assigned to “men” and “women” in society.
It’s important to note that a person’s gender does not automatically reflect their sex.
While some folk choose to find out the sex of their baby before they are born, it’s no predictor of their identity or preferences.
In this article: 📝
- What kind of bun are you baking?
- Can you do a gender test at home?
- How to accurately tell baby’s sex
- How accurate are home gender blood tests?
- What is the best at-home gender test?
What kind of bun are you baking?
We’ve all heard those weird and wonderful old wives’ tales that can supposedly tell you the sex of your baby.
But can you do a gender test at home?
Whether it’s the baking soda test (more on that below!) or based on your cravings, every auntie and their dog has an idea about how you can tell the sex of your baby before birth.
So, what do we know for sure?
Can you do a gender test at home?
Technically, yes.
That’s not to say they’re accurate though (on many levels).
Most, like the Chinese gender predictor test, seem to be around 50% accurate.
Which, if you think about it, is as accurate as a coin toss. Basically: not very.
BUT they can be a lot of fun!
So let’s look at a few different gender tests at home you can try.
Baking soda gender test
There’s the baking soda test where you mix some of your urine with baking soda to see if it fizzes or not.
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Fizzing suggests a boy.
Stillness, a girl.
Red cabbage gender test
Or there’s the red cabbage experiment.
Done in much the same way (more urine please!), the theory is that the pH of your urine will produce different results depending on whether you’re carrying a baby boy or a baby girl.
Pink cabbage water for girls, red for boys.
Could be tricky making THAT call.
Swinging ring gender test
One test that’s simple to do and requires no bodily fluids is the swinging ring test.
Tie a ring to a thin string and have someone hold it over your belly.
If it swings in a straight line, the old wives say, it’s a boy.
If it swings in circles, a girl.
How to accurately tell baby’s sex
If you’re looking for a more reliable answer, you usually you have to wait for your 20-week anatomy scan to tell what sex your baby will be.
(Depending on whether they’re sitting cross-legged or not, of course.)
Blood tests performed at a lab would also be able to tell you the sex of your baby.
Although these cell-free DNA tests are usually only performed on mamas-to-be who are over 35 to screen for chromosomal differences.
In analyzing the chromosomes, these tests can note whether the DNA is XY (male) or XX (female).
They have a 95 to 97% accuracy rate.
Pretty solid figures!
➡️ You might also like: 50 Best Gender Reveal Ideas: Balloons, Cakes & More!
How accurate are home gender blood tests?
Sometimes waiting for the mid-pregnancy ultrasound at 20 weeks can feel just too far away!
So you may be tempted to try an at-home gender test.
While there is very little harm in doing so, the question of accuracy is debatable.
These kits claim a high level of accuracy from as early as six weeks, though it must be said that there don’t seem to be any independent clinical studies to confirm this.
What makes at-home blood tests tricky is that they’re not performed under the sterile conditions they would be when collected by a phlebotomist (word of the day: a blood draw technician) in a clinical setting.
If your male partner touches the kit, for example, your test could become contaminated and the results unreliable.
What is the best at-home gender test?
While we can’t vouch for what the best test is, here are two of the most popular options.
The Sneak Peek DNA Test Gender Prediction
This test can be performed as early as six weeks.
If you’re asking “how accurate is Sneak Peek at home gender test?” we only have Sneak Peek’s own studies to go by.
These studies suggest a high level of accuracy, but we may have to take them with a pinch of salt as they conducted the studies themselves.
Gender predictor test kit by Gendermaker
The Gendermaker test can also be performed from six weeks, and tries to answer the question, “Can you find out gender by urine?”
If we’re honest, this looks about as reliable as the baking soda test. 😉
We recommend you stick with the methods backed by solid science to tell you the sex of your baby:
- An ultrasound
- A blood DNA test
- An amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. Both of these procedures come with risks and so are primarily done for medical reasons only, to detect genetic differences, rather than to determine sex
There are a lot of fun and safe ways to try to predict the sex of your baby at home.
Whether with baking soda, red cabbage, or swinging rings!
But results will probably only be right half the time.
Gender prediction is pretty impossible though.
That’s for your little squish to decide.