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Finding out the sex

Whether to learn your baby's sex before birth, and if so when and whom you tell. It is a personal preference.

Should we find out the baby's sex before the birth?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Early blood test; 20-week scan; Find out privately, do not announce; Wait until birth. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: during pregnancy.

Evidence
Your call
Best settled
During pregnancy
Part of
Pregnancy to first birthday

Finding out the sex: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Early blood test

    You find out from a blood test in the first trimester.

  2. 2. 20-week scan

    You find out at the mid-pregnancy ultrasound.

  3. 3. Find out privately, do not announce

    The two of you find out but do not tell others.

  4. 4. Wait until birth

    You wait to find out when the baby is born.

Finding out the sex: what does the evidence say?

Your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

No outcome research gathered on this yet — treat it as a preference.

What else is worth knowing?

Some parents like to plan and bond knowing the sex; others enjoy the surprise. If the two of you differ, one can find out and keep it secret, though that is hard to sustain. It also affects what you tell family.

Questions to ask each other

  • Do we want to know, and does it change how we would prepare?
  • If one of us wants to know and the other does not, how do we handle it?
  • Who else would we tell, and do we want a surprise for them or for us?

More in Pregnancy, birth and arrival

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.