According to a
Gallup poll from a few years back, U.S. adults are split fairly evenly about whether they'd want to learn the gender of their baby before the birth.
The Gallup poll notes:
- 51% of parents polled want to wait until their baby is born to find out the gender.
- 47% of parents want to know the gender before the birth.
- 2% of parents had no opinion.
- Parents who already had a child were more likely to say that they wanted to know the gender beforehand.
- Younger parents-to-be were also more likely to want to know the gender before the birth.
- Religion played a role in waiting. For example, 63% of Catholics and 56% of people who said they attended religious services at least once a month would wait.
Is it better to wait or to find out early? With emerging
blood tests that can tell you your baby's gender at as early as 5 weeks along with ultrasounds, it can be tempting to find out your baby's gender, but just because there's a test, doesn't mean you should find out. There are some
pros and cons related to both
knowing the gender early and not.
Would I find out? While I can't make this sort of decision for you, I can tell you what I'd do. First of all, you may not have a choice. For example, when I was pregnant with my son, finding out the gender was a formality, not a necessity. I was one of those mamas who just knew. The second I saw that positive pregnancy test I knew I was having a boy - I knew like I know the sky is blue. It was weird because I had
always wanted girls, so I figured my brain was acting up, but still I knew. I told my son's dad that an ultrasound was a waste of time because I was having a boy, but he didn't believe me. Low and behold, we had the ultrasound and I wasn't shocked to learn I was having a son. This makes me wonder what would happen if I was pregnant again. Would I know the gender? Maybe. However, IF I didn't get a strong gender feeling like I did last time, I would wait. I don't have any great reasons other than we don't have enough surprises in this world and also I think it might make labor a little more fun - i.e. give you a surprise to look forward to.
Do you want to find out your baby's gender before hand? Why or why not?
