Finding out the sex of your baby

sopranoali

hi ladies -

i know in the spreadsheet it says if you’re team “finding out” or team “surprise”...but I was wondering when you plan to find out, and more selfishly, how I can advocate for myself.

So, there is the U/S route, anatomy scan, if my memory from being pregnant 4 years ago serves me (lol) the u/s was around 16-18 weeks. 

There is another test, I believe it is called the Harmony test? It’s a blood test that screens for several disorders but also can detect testerone in the blood and thus your baby’s sex can be determined by this blood test, done in the first trimester. I wasn’t even offered this test in my first pregnancy. When I went to my BMC and saw all these mamas knew what they were having, I asked my midwife about it at my next appt (CNM, works in a hospital). Her reply was simply “we don’t offer that test unless we deem you need a more thorough test and we send you to <hospital 30 min away in larger city> to get it.” 

Idk I just kind of accepted it. But I’m wondering if I can get it this time. Has anyone here had yet Harmony test or similar in past pregnancies? Did insurance cover it? How did you access it?

TIA

stillcozy

well the test isnt for finding out the babies sex. most insurances do not cover it sadly. If the only reason you want to find out is the sex I would advise skipping the test

edited to add: mainly I say this because it isnt cheap and is often suggested for high risk moms. 

4deep

Genetics screening tests. They’re optional and *most of the time* covered by insurance, but I’ve heard many women say their insurance wouldn’t cover them. They’ll draw your blood to screen for several things. Most will include an option to find out gender (the presence of absence of Y chromosome in your blood). Basically they’re already looking at the chromosomes and will go ahead and tell you if you’d like to know. Easiest way to find out if this is an option is to call your OB and see if it’s standard for them to refer you for genetics testing. If it is, where? Call, find out. Call insurance, make sure it’s covered. If you don’t care about all the above and just want to know if you’ve got the Y chromy floating around, take one of the many DNA tests you can order online for under $100 such as “sneak peak” 

edited bc attaching stuff sucks 

mikayla14mom

The blood test I got was to see if my baby had RH- blood like I do and I also happen to also find out her sex. The insurance did not cover it. It was $900. If you don't have to do it then I would advise skipping it. Also I didn't find out that much earlier since you have to wait for the results. I think it was only 2 weeks before I could just pay for an elective ultrasound. This time I am really hoping my insurance can just cover this test...

stillcozy

exactly what @4deep said if you only want to know the sex go the sneak peak route there are quite a few companies that do the dna test I believe. I know my insurance would cost us 250 to do the Harmony but they help cover the cost for the NT scan so we are doing that to make sure everything is looking okay earlier on.  If you are comfortable waiting to find out sex but want a cheaper route to look at developmental concerns I highly suggest the NT most insurances help if not fully cover that 

wildtot

I got it with my son only because my obgyn always did the genetic testing for all her patients. She did advise that the sex was optional and often times not covered by insurance but it would be less that $200. TW - since we had a recent loss we went for it anyways. I don’t remember paying anything though do must of been covered. I got the blood work one around 11 wks and got results within 2 wks. 

sopranoali

Yeah I am an end of July due date mom so my first appointment isn’t until close to Christmas, I guess I will ask then. With the severe pre-e last pregnancy and approaching 35 years old, they may recommend the test anyway...it’s torture waiting for this first appointment lol

mikayla14mom

sopranoali said:

Yeah I am an end of July due date mom so my first appointment isn’t until close to Christmas, I guess I will ask then. With the severe pre-e last pregnancy and approaching 35 years old, they may recommend the test anyway...it’s torture waiting for this first appointment lol

I think they do recommended the testing for those that will be 35 before the due date. I know my insurance covered extra testing once I reach 35 and that included the Harmony testing. 

christycalifornia

I was offered it for the genetics, and we took it, but the sex of the baby wasn't offered as part of the screening, I assume because that's not covered by insurance because it's considered elective. Every screen costs money, usually an extra vial of blood or two, because it's an additional test. It's not like they pull a vial and get a readout of everything possibly in your blood. I'd talk with your doctor and check the expense before you decide. 

stillcozy

@paytonpedro

elizabethrn87

My last pregnancy I had the harmony test and insurance covered it BUT I have had a molar pregnancy so all future pregnancy’s will have extra screening for me I believe. 

doxiemoxie212

Lurking from June.

OP, what you're talking about is NIPT testing. There are a few brands: Harmony, MaterniT21, Panorama, etc. They're all fairly similar but typically your doctor's office only works with one brand. If you're under 35, typically insurance doesn't cover it with a few exceptions - certain states require it to be covered, at least partially, regardless of age. My insurance is through Illinois, even though I don't live in Illinois, so Mat21 will cost us about $150. Without insurance it would've been $560, I believe. Depending on your doctor and what state you live in, the OOP expense without insurance is somewhere between $500-$2000. You can call the companies directly to find out what it would cost, and they each have information on their websites about labs you can go to get your blood drawn, so I don't think you necessarily need to have it done at your doctor's office.

What a few others above are talking about is the blood work that comes with the NT scan, which is basically a much less comprehensive version of NIPT, though still genetic testing, and does not include the sex of the baby. Since I got Mat21, I opted out of that blood draw, and just had the NT scan as complementary. Typically the NT scan plus the blood work that goes along with it is covered by insurance regardless of age or location since it is much less involved. 

Lelo2006

christycalifornia said:

I was offered it for the genetics, and we took it, but the sex of the baby wasn't offered as part of the screening, I assume because that's not covered by insurance because it's considered elective. Every screen costs money, usually an extra vial of blood or two, because it's an additional test. It's not like they pull a vial and get a readout of everything possibly in your blood. I'd talk with your doctor and check the expense before you decide. 

I think part of it is the karyotyping which couldn’t be done without checking whether it’s xx or xy... stupid insurance charging extra for that

Lelo2006

I don’t think it checks for testosterone, it checks for the Y chromosome to see if it’s a boy or girl.

My friend had it done and they told her she was having a boy when it turned out it was actually a girl. Errors apparently happen with relatively high frequency- 10% of the time, according to some studies! Eek!

WorkinWeezel

Lelo2006 said:

I don’t think it checks for testosterone, it checks for the Y chromosome to see if it’s a boy or girl.

My friend had it done and they told her she was having a boy when it turned out it was actually a girl. Errors apparently happen with relatively high frequency- 10% of the time, according to some studies! Eek!

This just happened to a friend of mine. The hom test said boy, and then the U/S confirmed a girl. 

wildtot

WorkinWeezel said:

Lelo2006 said:

I don’t think it checks for testosterone, it checks for the Y chromosome to see if it’s a boy or girl.

My friend had it done and they told her she was having a boy when it turned out it was actually a girl. Errors apparently happen with relatively high frequency- 10% of the time, according to some studies! Eek!

This just happened to a friend of mine. The hom test said boy, and then the U/S confirmed a girl. 

I know there is a margin of error but i would think blood work would still be more accurate than U/S. Regardless only birth can will 100%

morethanamama

I live in California and apparently at least part of the cost for the screening test is covered. I *think* my cost should be ~$100, maybe less. I need to ask about the additional fee for the gender and I have not decided if I want to know before the scan or not I will be 35 for ONE MONTH of my pregnancy, lol, so I was still advised to do the screening. While looking at the pamphlet closely, I did notice that the accuracy of detection varies, and in some cases it's actually around 70%, but I know DH still would like me to do it and I don't mind since it's not invasive. 

WorkinWeezel

wildtot said: 

WorkinWeezel said:

Lelo2006 said:

I don’t think it checks for testosterone, it checks for the Y chromosome to see if it’s a boy or girl.

My friend had it done and they told her she was having a boy when it turned out it was actually a girl. Errors apparently happen with relatively high frequency- 10% of the time, according to some studies! Eek!

This just happened to a friend of mine. The hom test said boy, and then the U/S confirmed a girl. 

I know there is a margin of error but i would think blood work would still be more accurate than U/S. Regardless only birth can will 100%

Same. We've never found out so I wouldn't even know what to look for on a U/S!