Volume 11 Issue 1 (February) - Australasian Society for Ultrasound ...

ASUM Ultrasound Bulletin February 2008; 11 (1): 19–24
DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND
What factors are associated with parental desire ­
to find out the sex of their baby?
E.S. Bauman 1 , L. N. Hollander 1 , D.E.V. Fauchon 1 , A.J. Eggink 2 , F.K. Lotgering 2 , Ron J. Benzie 1
1
Christopher Kohlenberg Department of Perinatal Ultrasound, Nepean Hospital, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
2
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radboud University, Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
Correspondence to RJ Benzie. Email BenzieR@wahs.nsw.gov.au
Key words: fetal sex, fetal gender, sex preference, ultrasound.
Abstract
Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine which factors are associated with parental
desire to find out the sex of their baby, or not, before birth and to explore the reasons that parents find
important in making this decision. Methods: A total of 200 questionnaires were filled in at the Nepean
Hospital, Western Sydney. Questions were asked about the mothers’ demographic factors, her partner
if applicable, this pregnancy, ultrasound examinations, pregnancy history, childbirth plans, maternal
and paternal sex preference and desire to find out the baby’s sex. At the final question scores had to
be given for reasons that may have played a role in the parents’ decision to find out or not to find out
the sex of their unborn child. Results: 64% of the mothers and 55.1% of the fathers wanted to know
the sex of the baby. Factors related to maternal desire to find out the sex of the baby are; low maternal
and paternal education level, low household income, having previous children, having a sex preference,
having no partner, knowing the sex of previous children before birth, planning to move based on the
sex of the baby, not having more children in the future and not planning to breastfeed. The reason that
scored the highest percentage (66.4%) for being an important motive to find out the sex of the baby
was ‘curiosity’. Conclusions: Several factors are associated with maternal desire to find out the sex of
the baby before birth.
Introduction
During pregnancy, most women will have at least one
ultrasound examination, which is the first opportunity for
the expectant mother to get an image of her unborn child.
Ultrasound is a widely accepted method to detect potential
abnormalities in fetal growth and development but is also the
most common way to find out the sex of the baby. Attempts
in the past to predict fetal sex by fetal heart rate, severity of
morning sickness or shape of the maternal abdomen have
been proven to have no scientific validity 1 .
Recent research proves it is possible to find out the sex
of the fetus by ultrasound with a 98–100% accuracy from
12–14 weeks of gestation 2–6 .
Having an ultrasound examination involves a decision to
be made by the parents, i.e. do they want to know whether
they will be having a boy or a girl or will they keep the sex of
the baby a surprise until birth? Although this choice affects
every expectant parent, little is known about the process of
reasoning which leads to a decision. For a number of parents
the need to know their baby’s sex is clear; for instance a
family history of X-linked disease where determination of
female gender excludes the disease while male gender gives
the fetus a 50% risk of inheriting the disorder 4 . For some
parents the preference for having a son is so strong they
certainly want to find out their baby’s sex. This is especially
important in countries like India and China where expecting
a girl still leads to sex selective abortion 7 . However, for the
majority of parents, the reason will not be that obvious.
Consequences of knowing the sex of the baby before
birth and having a sex preference have been studied in the
past. One study showed that parents who knew the sex of the
baby before birth had significantly lower scores on the Fetal
Attachment Scale, even when having a baby of the preferred
sex 8 . Having a sex preference and knowing the sex of the
baby leads to a higher percentage of obstetric difficulties
and feelings of depression, somatisation and anxiety when
having a baby of the undesired sex 1,9 .
The only recent study of factors that are associated with
parents’ desire to know the fetal sex was published by Shipp,
et al. in the USA in 2004. They concluded that specific
demographic and socio-economic characteristics predicted
whether or not parents chose to know the sex of their unborn
child 10 .
The main purpose of this research, done among first trimester
gravidas, was to determine which factors are associated
with parental desire to find out or not find out the sex of
their baby before birth. Furthermore, it explored the reasons
that parents find most important in making their decision.
Determining the factors that are involved in parents’ decision
to find out the sex of their unborn child, or not, can help
health care employees to anticipate problems that may occur
by telling parents the sex of the baby before birth.
Methods
A total of 200 questionnaires were filled in at the Nepean
Hospital, University of Sydney, in Penrith, Australia. The
questionnaire consisted of 40 questions; three open-ended, 35
multiple choice and two five-point numeric scale question.
The three open-ended questions asked for maternal and
paternal age and postal code.
ASUM Ultrasound Bulletin 2008 February 11 (1)