Is it a Boy or Girl? At-Home Test Can Tell You Sooner

Expecting a child is one of the most exciting times in a person’s life, and most often prospective parents want to know the gender of the baby as soon as possible. Now it will be possible to find out if they are carrying a girl or a boy as early as 10 weeks after conception, according to the makers of the new over-the-counter gender prediction test.

IntelliGender, the Plano, Texas creator of the new “Boy or Girl Gender Prediction Test,” says that the scientists have been able to isolate certain hormones that when combined with a “proprietary mix of chemicals” react differently depending on if the mother is carrying a girl or boy. The new test claims that within ten minutes of taking the urine-based test that the mother will be able to tell her baby’s gender. The urine specimen will turn green if the gender is male, and it will turn orange if the gender is female. However, IntelliGender would not say what exact chemicals or hormones the test uses because of a patent that is still pending.

IntelliGender co-founder, Rebecca Griffin, stated, “Most parents have a great degree of curiosity to find out if they’re having a boy or girl, an it can be so excruciating to wait until the 20-week sonogram to find out. But the test was never meant to be a diagnostic tool. We don’t claim to 100 percent accuracy.” In fact, on the company’s website it specifically states not to jump and paint the room blue or pink until the expectant mother confirms the results with her physician. The company said, “We specifically state to all our consumers that they shouldn’t make any emotional or financial steps until the results are confirmed via sonogram.” According to the latest IntelliGender report, the gender predictor tests boasts a 78 to 80 percent rate of accuracy.

So why are all of the expectant parents so eager to find out whether they are having a boy or a girl a few months early? According to Jennifer Parks, who is the co-director of Loyola University Chicago’s Programs in Health Care Ethics, said “When a parent can visualize the sex of their baby and confirm they have that little person inside of them, it suddenly becomes real to them. They often feel a stronger connection. So, it’s not surprising parents would want this test.” However, some people have said that the issue could get dicey if the findings of the test led to a decision about whether or not to continue with the pregnancy. For instance, say that a woman already has tree daughters and wants to get pregnant one last time to try for a boy. If she takes the new test at ten weeks, and it shows it is not the gender she wants, she may make a decision to terminate the pregnancy and try again. Not everyone in America is pro-choice or pro-life. A lot of Americans today tend to hang out somewhere in the middle. When an expectant mother is at ten weeks, most Americans tend to see it as the earliest embryo which is very different than the more developed fetus.

The makers of the new gender prediction test say that they “categorically disagree” with the idea that their test may prompt an increase in this type of sex-selection abortion. Griffin stated, “I can’t even fathom someone making a decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy based on a test informing them they may have a boy or girl.

IntelliGender stated that out of all of the email inquiries they have received, only two have inquired about using this test as a vehicle for a sex-selection process. The anti-abortion groups, who are already concerned about women opting to keep their infants based on eye and hair color, are now worried about the gender-selection too.

Anthony Lauinger, who is the vice president of National Right to Life, stated that there is a problem is some countries where baby boys are greatly preferred for cultural reasons and aborting baby girls is a very common practice. While the test in now available for sale in 11 different countries, IntelliGender does not allow the test to be sold in China or India.

Griffin stated, “All of our retailers have to strictly adhere to that policy. If they don’t, we would pull our product immediately from their shelves.” Since the year 2006, more than 50,000 of the tests have sold online in the United States alone. Last month, the U.S. drugstore chains Walgreens and CVS, began to sell the gender predictor test in their stores for $34.95.