What are home gender test kits?

If you’re eager to find out if you’re having a boy or a girl, you don’t have to wait for your healthcare provider to do a test—there are at-home gender test kits that claim to be able to identify your baby’s gender using a blood test as early as six weeks pregnant.

Here’s how these blood-based DNA tests usually work:

1. You receive a kit that includes instructions, blood sampling equipment, and packaging for sending the sample to the laboratory.
2. To do the test, you prick your finger with a lancet (or use a lancing device) and collect blood in a tube.
3. You send a tube of blood to the laboratory for analysis.
4. Within a week (or sooner with expedited service), the lab emails you the test results, identifying the baby as a boy or girl.

There are also urine-based tests, but there is very little DNA in urine, so these tests are probably not as accurate – and they don’t claim to be. The kits contain instructions and accessories for collecting a urine sample and performing the test. Results are provided within minutes.

Are the gender test kits the same as the test I would get at my provider’s office?

Yes and no. The gender test kits you get at home are the same types of tests as the ones in your provider’s office, but they can’t give you as much information. Your doctor’s test is called non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and is primarily used to screen for Down syndrome and some other chromosomal conditions. It can also tell the gender of your baby. NIPT uses certified laboratories to check for fetal DNA (cell-free DNA) circulating in your blood.

“NIPT is the earliest reliable, noninvasive way to determine your baby’s sex,” says Layan Alrahmani, MD, a specialist in gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine in Chicago. “Many people having NIPT tests are keen to find out the gender of the baby along with the results of other tests.”

NIPT is available to all pregnant women in their 10th week of pregnancy, and your insurance may cover at least part of the fee (check to be sure).

Most at-home gender tests that require a blood sample are also cell-free DNA tests, but they only test for the presence or absence of a male Y chromosome in your blood to determine the gender of your baby. (Unless you’re carrying a boy, you’d only have female chromosomes in the DNA found in your blood.) They don’t check for chromosomal conditions.

Some pregnant women use at-home gender tests if they don’t get NIPT and don’t want to wait for a mid-pregnancy ultrasound to find out the gender of their baby.

Learn more about reliable ways to find out your baby’s gender.

Are home gender test kits accurate?

The science behind at-home blood tests is good, but these tests aren’t foolproof, says Shannon Smith, MD, an ob/gyn in Boston and a BabyCenter medical advisor. There is more room for error with home blood tests than those done in the doctor’s office. Here are some factors that can affect the accuracy of the test:

• DNA contamination. If a man touches your test kit, your test could falsely identify a female baby as male.

• A recent miscarriage.

• Twin or multiple pregnancy.

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• High BMI.

• Recent blood transfusion or stem cell transplant.
• Laboratory contamination.

“If you just can’t wait for routine testing at your provider’s office, home sex kits that use a blood sample are very accurate, adds Dr. Smith. “However, I would be cautious about urine-based testing. “

Under certain circumstances, companies that sell early gender DNA testing kits offer refunds for incorrect results.

What are the most popular gender test kits and how do they work?

Here are some of the most popular at-home gender test kits that you can buy online or in some stores. Read on to find out how they work and how accurate the tests claim to be.

SneakPeek Early Gender DNA Test KitOpens a new window

• SneakPeek uses a blood test as early as 6 weeks pregnant to look for male chromosomes in the fetal DNA in your blood.

• After you mail your test to the SneakPeek lab, you’ll receive your results via email or text within a few days.

• The company claims 99.9% accuracy.

Peekaboo Early Gender DNA TestOpens a new window

• Peekaboo also uses a blood test as early as 7 weeks pregnant.

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• After you mail your test to Peekaboo Labs, you will receive your results via email within seven business days. Peekaboo also has the option to send your results to someone else if you keep your baby’s gender a surprise.

• The company claims 100% accuracy.

GENDERmaker Gender Predictor Test KitOpens a new window

• GENDERmaker uses a urine-based test as early as the 6th week of pregnancy.

• You will get the results immediately – without sending the samples to the laboratory.

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• The company doesn’t claim accuracy, but notes a “positive feedback rate” of 98.4%.

GenderBliss Gender Predictor KitOpens a new window

• GenderBliss uses a urine-based test kit that is accurate as early as 8 to 10 weeks pregnant, depending on which test you get.

• Results are available within one minute.

• GenderBliss doesn’t say specifically how accurate it is, but says it’s “not for people looking for a 100% accurate result.”

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There’s no harm in trying them, but always talk to your provider

In general, there isn’t a lot of independently verified evidence that gender predictor test kits are as accurate as they claim to be, but if you want to try them, they’re generally cheap and there’s no harm in giving them a try. “So many pregnant women these days are being tested for NIPT as part of their routine care that gender prediction kits may be an unnecessary expense,” says Dr. Smith. “But that being said, there’s no harm in getting them, as long as you understand that you should probably wait for a confirmatory test with your doctor or midwife before filling the pram with pink or blue!”

Note: We use the word gender here because people often use this word when talking about the gender of their child. However, the two are not the same. A child is generally assigned a gender at birth based on biological characteristics, such as genitalia. But their gender label may not match their gender identity (based on feelings and behavior) as they grow up.