A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a new blood test used to predict a baby’s sex is between 95 and 99 percent effective when used by women who are over seven weeks pregnant. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that this test is effective over a month before other sex-determining tests, such as amniocentesis, which is typically performed at approximately 16 weeks gestation, and ultrasounds, performed around the 13th week.
The study indicated that sex determination “can be useful in clinical settings for early detection of fetuses at risk for sex-linked disorders requiring follow-up testing.” Dr. Lee Schulman, chief of clinical genetics at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, stated, “I would have a lot of difficulties offering such a test just for gender identification.”
In India, the government prohibited the use of sonograms in 1994 to reveal the sex of the fetus, but according to the 2011 India census, the country continues to have a disproportionate rate of abortions of female fetuses. For every 1,000 male children under the age six, there are only 914 girls.
