5 Things to Consider for Your Gender Reveal Party

Pregnancy is a beautiful experience, filled with joy and anticipation! Every detail about your baby feels exciting. You probably find yourself thinking about whether or not they will have hair, how big they will be, or whether they are a boy or a girl! It is so much fun to dream and imagine what life will be like with them in it.

Over the past several years, the concept of waiting to find out the baby’s sex has risen in popularity. While gender reveal parties are still all the rage to some families, the idea of waiting until birth for the big reveal is even more thrilling to others!

Have you found yourself feeling stuck in the middle about whether or not to find out the sex of your baby? If so, you are in the right place! We have gathered all of the information that you will need to help determine whether you should find out the sex of your baby, or if you should wait.

QUICK TIP: Finding out the sex of your baby will be right for some parents, and wrong for others. With that being said, be sure to do what is right for YOU and your partner. It’s not about what other people have to say about your decision, it is about what will bring the greatest amount of joy to your family!

With that being said, we have compiled a list of pros to both sides of the debate. Let’s go through those!

Pros of Finding Out the Sex of the Baby

Finding out the sex of the baby is the go-to option for MANY families, and for good reason!

📌Finding out allows you to prepare in advance.

When you find out you are expecting, a significant amount of time and energy goes into preparing your child’s nursery, wardrobe, toys, and more. Whether you agree or not, most people still associate certain colors, themes, and decor with a certain gender.

By finding out the gender early, you can use that information to help you to decide what colors you want to use for decoration and for dressing your baby. 

📌Finding out prevents gender disappointment.

Have you heard of gender disappointment? It’s a very real thing for many parents.

Gender disappointment occurs when a parent strongly believes that their child will be one gender, but it turns out that they are the other. Experiencing this does not mean that the parent loves their child any less, or even that they are unhappy about the gender... it just means that the gender is not what they were expecting and that they will have to change the image that they had created in the head.

While gender disappointment can also occur if you find out the gender early, many people believe that it is better to have time to process through those feelings before the baby is born, instead of once the baby has arrived.

📌Finding out gives you something to celebrate halfway through pregnancy.

Any woman who has experienced pregnancy will tell you this much: pregnancy is LONG! 40 weeks can feel like an eternity, so much so that it can be easy for a pregnant woman (and her loved ones!) to struggle to remember what all of the hardship of pregnancy is for.

Finding out the gender gives you a reason to celebrate (and even hold a party!) halfway through your pregnancy. Who knows, maybe the time spent celebrating will help the second half of your pregnancy go by faster!

📌Finding out helps you to envision what life with your child will look like.

Even if you have no intention of limiting your child to stereotypically gender-based activities (ex. football for boys, ballet for girls), there is still something that happens in our minds when we learn the gender of our child. You can't help but develop a preconceived idea of what life with your child will look like. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on you and your perception!

Pros of Waiting to Find Out the Sex

Waiting to find out the sex of the baby means an additional surprise when it’s time to give birth!

📌Waiting prevents a hyper fixation on your child’s sex.

In this day and age, society continues to work towards a world where an individual’s success is not based on their gender. Girls can play football, boys can take ballet… the limits are gone and there is no reason your child should be limited based on their decision. 

When you refrain from finding out the sex of your baby, it prevents a hyper fixation on your child’s sex. The preconceived notions of their appearance and preferences disappear, which can be a positive thing for both the parents and the child!

📌Waiting prevents an abundance of stereotypical, gender-based gifts. 

Does pink for a girl and blue for a boy go against the idea you have in mind for your little one? By not publicizing the sex of your baby, you will be totally in the clear from gifts like those. 

📌Waiting allows you to focus on characteristics of the baby that are not gender-related.

Because you aren’t spending time trying to decide if a baby item is “feminine enough” or “masculine enough”, you may find that you have more time to focus on the characteristics of the baby that are not gender-related.

When can you find out the sex?

When do you need to have made your decision? Here is some information on your two opportunities to reveal the gender, if you so choose to.

📌NIPTs- as early as 7 weeks 

NIPTs (also known as non-invasive prenatal testing) is a blood test that takes place in a doctor’s office. This test can determine the gender of the baby, while also testing for other genetic patterns, including abnormalities. 

This test is 98% accurate, with the accuracy numbers increasing with each passing gestational week. 

📌Ultrasound- approximately 20 weeks

Typically, pregnant women will have an ultrasound at about 20 weeks gestation. This is sometimes referred to as an anatomy scan, as it is where the ultrasound technician checks to make sure that the baby’s body is developing appropriately. Women often find out the gender of their baby at this appointment.

At the end of the day, choosing to find out the gender cannot be decided by anyone other than you! While there are pros and cons to both sides of the coin, the only thing that matters is what will make you the most comfortable as you venture into life with your little one.

Whichever choice you decide is the right one for you!