6 vs. 7 Weeks: When To Find Out Your Baby’s Sex Or Gender?

So, you recently found out you’re pregnant- congratulations! You're likely filled with so much excitement, anticipation, and curiosity about your growing little one. And one of the most exciting moments in pregnancy is finding out the sex or gender of your baby. While some expectant parents choose to wait until birth to find out, others are eager to know if they’re having a boy or girl as early as possible.

If you're considering finding out your baby's gender early, you may be looking at different testing options. Some of these amazing choices include at-home screening tests, generally allowing for testing around 6 to 7 weeks gestation. But what’s better? What will give you the results you need? Continue reading to learn more about how 6 and 7-week early gender tests differ and which might be best for you and your growing family.

The importance of knowing your baby's gender

Discovering your baby's sex can be an exciting and emotional experience. This small but important piece of information can help you better connect with your growing little bundle and start planning for their future. Whether you're hoping for a specific gender or are happy with either, it's important to note that gender doesn't define who your child is or who they’ll become. Your baby's gender is just one part of their vast identity, and it's important to love and accept them for who they are, regardless of gender.

Factors that impact the accuracy of early gender testing

There are so many factors to consider when determining the accuracy of a gender test. One of the factors often not addressed or easily understood involves something called fetal fraction.

Fetal sex or early gender testing and non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) both work by analyzing circulating cell-free fetal DNA in a pregnant person’s bloodstream! The “fetal fraction” refers to the percentage of cell-free DNA in a pregnant person’s blood that comes from the fetus or placenta rather than from the pregnant person’s own biological tissues. So when it comes to the accuracy of an early gender test, basically: the more fetal DNA there is in your blood, the more accurate your results will be.

@junodiagnostics We 💜 accurate prenatal test results, don’t you? #myjunodxjourney #JunoDiagnostics #JunoBirchTest #pregnancy #pregnancytiktok #genetictesting #gendertest #genderreveal #earlygenderdetection #babygenderreveal #firsttimemom #mamatobe #genderprediction #genderbloodtest #earlygendertest ♬ Speed Trap - Jessie Shapiro & Rob Shore

Fetal Fraction and accuracy at 6 weeks

The amount of cell-free fetal DNA increases over time during pregnancy, and most pregnant people won’t have enough cell-free fetal DNA in their blood at 5 or 6 weeks gestation to reliably predict your baby’s gender.

A smaller placenta at 5 or 6 weeks releases less fetal DNA into your bloodstream than a larger placenta later in pregnancy. This lower threshold can lead to “inconclusive” results or a wrong result of “girl” (since the gender test is only detecting the mom’s DNA).

The Juno Birch™ Test at 7 weeks

The Birch™ Early Fetal Gender Test allows expectant parents to begin testing for gender as early as 7 weeks gestation. While gender tests that allow for testing as early as 6 or even 5 weeks, may give you a result just a bit earlier than other testing options. We know that during pregnancy, every moment matters, and it can be hard to wait to learn more about your baby or pregnancy. But we also know and have experienced that confusion, disappointment, and frustration that can be caused by an inaccurate or inconclusive result.

Years of research have taught us that there should be enough DNA for fetal gender testing at around 7 weeks. Waiting that extra week or two ensures there’s enough fetal DNA present in the maternal bloodstream to accurately predict the baby’s sex and reduces your chance of experiencing a false result. We want every family to be able to trust their results and feel confident and excited celebrating the moment they find out the sex of their little one, which is why we developed Birch™ with that goal in mind.

To learn more about Birch™ and discover whether that testing option might be best for you, click here: Discover the Birch™ Test


References:
Deng C, Liu S. Factors Affecting the Fetal Fraction in Noninvasive Prenatal Screening: A Review. Front Pediatr. 2022;10:812781. Published 2022 Jan 27. doi:10.3389/fped.2022.812781

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