Sex of the fetus
The genus of the fetus is determined at the junction of the sperm to the egg. In the first moments of pregnancy, chromosomes and genetic and genetic information are determined. Feminine embryos carry the chromosomes XX. The embryos carry the XY chromosomes, and the genitals are not directly formed. Of embryos appear to be similar during the first four to six weeks of pregnancy and begin to vary from 10 to 20 weeks of gestation.
Methods of knowing the sex of the fetus
There are many ways to know the type of fetus, including:
Ultrasound
The type of fetus can be identified using ultrasound usually in the middle of pregnancy, from 16 weeks to 20 weeks if the fetus is in a position that shows the genitals and the doctor can see them. The technique is based on the production of ultrasound and directing it to the uterus after placing a gel on the abdominal area to act as a conductive material and then collide with the radiation tissue and bones in the uterus, and return to be converted using the converted device to the image of the fetus appear in black and white.
Non-invasive prenatal screening
(Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) This test is based on the search for parts of the male chromosomes in a sample of the mother’s blood to determine if they are male or female. It is also used to detect some genetic disorders in the chromosomes such as Down syndrome in the 10th week of pregnancy or subsequent periods.
Chorionic villus examination
Chorionic Villus Sampling, a genetic test commonly used to determine the incidence of certain genetic disorders in chromosomes, but may also be used to determine the type of fetus. It takes place from the 10th to the 13th week, where a small sample of the placenta is taken to analyze the genes in a laboratory and identify the chromosomes. The results are obtained within seven days.
Examination of amniotic fluid
(Amniocentesis), where a needle inserted into the amniotic sac is used to take a sample of amniotic fluid to be tested in a laboratory. This fluid contains cells from the fetus, Ultrasound with him to determine the safe place to enter the needle and take the desired sample. It can be done from the 16th to the 20th week. Although it is commonly used to detect genetic problems, some may use it to determine the type of fetus. The results need to take several days to a few weeks.
False beliefs to know the sex of the fetus
There are many misconceptions about how to determine the sex of the fetus, including:
- The shape of the abdomen: It is common belief that a low or forward abdomen is an indicator of pregnancy with a male fetus, and its elevation or direction from the middle is an indication of pregnancy with a female fetus. “Pregnancy status depends on the degree of contractility of the mother’s muscles and the child’s position,” says Ellen Beard, a consultant in practice at the American University of Nursing and Midwives. “The amount of weight gained during pregnancy and The body determines the body of the abdomen, and does not depend on the type and sex of the fetus.
- Fetal pulse: Heart rate The rate of fetal velocity of one hundred and forty beats per minute is thought to be evidence of a female pregnancy and its reduction from that value is evidence of pregnancy by male. But in fact, the fetal pulse starts at about 6 weeks of gestation at a low speed of ninety to one hundred and ten pulses per minute, and gradually increases daily to reach its highest value in the ninth week of pregnancy; pulse readings for both males and females range from one hundred and forty To seventy-one beats per minute.
- Type of food desired during pregnancy: It is common belief that the desire to eat sweets is a sign of pregnancy with a male fetus, but the desire to eat foods with a sour taste is evidence of pregnancy with a female fetus. But what really happens is the desire to eat sweet-tasting foods or any other foods – the change in hormones and the resulting increased sense of smell.
- Nausea of morning pregnancy: Morning Sickness The feeling of nausea throughout the day is a sign that the fetus is female. The belief is that the level of the pregnancy hormone or the so-called human chorionic Gonadotropin, which stimulates nausea increases in mothers who have female fetuses, but can not rely on this method to know the type of fetus ; Women who carry memo embryos also suffer from severe nausea.
- Chinese lunar calendar: The Chinese Lunar Calendar, which was discovered in a royal tomb at the age of seven hundred years, and this method determines the sex of the fetus depending on the age of the mother at the time of pregnancy and the month in which the pregnancy occurred. But there is no scientific basis for this method. According to a Canadian study conducted in 1999, the results of this method are not accurate and the probability of its results is not different from the results of random speculation.