Ultrasonographic assessment of fetal gender

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the value and accuracy of ultrasonography in the detection and determination of the gender of the fetus. This prospective study involves the Ultrasound examination of a total of 415 fetuses including 216 (52 %) females and 199 (48%) males. The mean gestational age at which the fetuses were scanned was 32 weeks 1day, with a range of 15 to 40 weeks. Fetal sex identification was only possible in 363 (87.5%) cases. Of these, the fetal sex corroborated birth sex in 314 (75.7%) and disagrees in 49(11.8%) cases. The overall estimated sensitivity of the scan in fetal sex determination is 86.5%, while the estimated specificity for identification of the female sex (90.6%) was higher than that of the male (83.2%). Despite the high efficacy of ultrasound in sex determination obtained in our study, the errors and failure rates should be made known to mothers who are willing to know the gender of their fetuses.