Gender checks

Although medical textbooks state that the gender of the baby can be seen on ultrasound as early as 12 weeks, practically speaking, most medical facilities and hospitals do not attempt to determine the gender of the baby until the 20-week ob/gyn visit. 3D/4D ultrasound centers bridge the gap and fulfill the niche market of pregnant women who can not wait to find out the sex of the baby, women who did not find out the gender of the baby at their medical visit and the insurance does not pay for any more ultrasounds, and women who simply want to confirm the sex of the baby.

Some ultrasound centers attempt to determine the gender of the baby as early as 15 weeks and advertise as such. The customer is required to pay at the first visit, but most of the time, the customer has to return when the baby is more mature. At 15 weeks, the success rate for being able to see the gender is around 50% at best, and the accuracy at that gestational age is questionable.

At 17 weeks, the ability to find the gender and accuracy rises to above 90%. Most ultrasound centers use 17 weeks as their cutoff to determine the gender. Gender determination is the most accurate at 20 weeks and beyond, with a rate of 95%, as reported in the medical literature based on ob/gyn visits generally done at 20 weeks.

Visualization of the baby

3D ultrasounds are best done at 20-32 weeks, and ideally between 24 and 30 weeks. Some centers advise customers to come in between 28 and 32 weeks or beyond in order to get closeup pictures.

After 32 weeks, there is an increased risk that the baby has already engaged (descended into the pelvis) and at that time, getting 3D images of the baby is nearly impossible.