A new genetic maternity non-invasive test, the MaterniT21 Plus test as it's commercially known, promises to reveal the sex of your unborn baby as early as 10 weeks of gestation–and it can even reveal genetic issues way earlier than other tests.
On the one hand, I can see how finding out earlier than usual can give future parents more of a chance to prepare for what's to come, to educate themselves, and seek help from others who are in similar situations (in the case of, say, a genetic abnormality). But…
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On the other, I feel like this test could help many couples not wait so long in when it comes to deciding to end their pregnancies. Of course, there's nothing wrong with deciding to have an abortion, each couple and individual situation is different and we are all free to decide what to do with our bodies. But I'm sure many people will be against this new test for this exact reason.
The price is a bit hefty at $2,000, but that's about the same as amniocentesis; the non-invasive part of it, though, is a plus, as is the claim that the accuracy rate is 99 percent.
For those people who can't wait until the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy to find out the sex of their baby, then this new test is perfect. Aside from checking for genetic abnormalities, the test will positively tell you the sex of your soon-to-be bundle of joy at 10 weeks.
I never had any prenatal tests done to find out if my babies would be born with any sort of genetic mutation, like Down syndrome. (In fact, during my first pregnancy, I didn't even want to know if I was having a boy or a girl.) Even though I can understand why many times women decide to have these prenatal tests done, the truth is that I wouldn't want to be forced to decide what to do if any of these had found that my kids would be born with some sort of genetic problem. For many future moms, however, the possibility that now they are able to find out much earlier than before is great news.
Image via Trevor Bair/Flickr
