Parents who are eager to discover the gender of their impending arrival can traditionally opt to have a preliminary ultrasound 11 weeks into their pregnancy. However, the accuracy of this method isn't guaranteed, and most parents choose to wait until between 18 and 22 weeks.
Happily, for especially curious parents-to-be, a simple and safe blood test may now be able to reliably determine their baby's sex early on. The process is expected to be 95 percent accurate at seven weeks, and 100 percent accurate within 22 weeks, according to a report published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
While this new option is sure to be helpful to parents who are eager to choose between pink and blue nursery decorations, it will also allow physicians to be on the look out for early warning signs of gender-specific disorders.
We're sure that many expectant moms and dads will be eager to take advantage of this reliable and early gender identification option. But, we can't blame those who decide to wait until the big day to find out if they're having a little boy or girl – there's definitely a thrill to the anticipation!