Can the ultrasound detect which sex my baby is?
By about 18-20 weeks the ultrasound can identify the sex of your baby, if you want to know. If you don’t want to know, it might be a good idea to tell the sonographer straight away in case you accidentally get a glimpse.
If your baby is turning away from the sonographer and you can’t get a clear enough picture of it’s genitals, you may have to wait a bit longer – lots of babies don’t play by the rules. Even the best sonographers can’t guarantee if your baby is a boy or a girl, so don’t go too mad decorating the nursery or buying baby clothes until you have your baby in your arms and you have physical proof.
There is a theory that you can affect which sex you conceive by having sex at different times, for example, sperm carrying the Y chromosome swim faster but die sooner and sperm carrying the X chromosome last longer but can't swim as fast (think:the hare and the tortoise).
This means if you have sex before you ovulate, the boy sperm may swim faster but won't be able to hang around for the egg, but the girl sperm will amble more slowly and by the time they reach the egg the boy sperm have died and they are just in time for conception!
You can work out when you ovulate with our Ovulation calculator, then either have frequent sex on the days leading up to ovulation for a girl, or on the day or after ovulation for a boy...
Of course, this is just a theory, but there's no harm in trying!
For a girl: Make love up to two to three days before ovulation as female sperm live longer than males, so they can hang around till ovulation day.
For a boy: Make love on the day of, or just after ovulation as male sperm swim faster than female sperm so will beat them to it.
If you would like to talk to other mums about this, or any other related topic, visit the Guide to Pregnancy area of the chat forum. Remember to upload a photo of your growing belly into our Baby Bumps gallery!
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Last Modified: 21/06/2007
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