I am one of those mothers who would not have cared to wait for birth to know if a child was coming, but for many families, knowing it as soon as possible is important. The most impatient may even find out about baby sex practically while the pregnancy test is positive.
MyTest Baby It is a pregnancy test to know the sex of the baby from four weeks of pregnancy and will be sold in pharmacies. It is a creation of the Madrid company MyGen, and it is based on a blood test that can be done at home to know, from an early age, if the baby will be a boy or a girl.
The process is simple and includes everything you need in the kit that will cost around 100 euros. First you have to clean the fingertip with a wipe and then perform a puncture with a lancet on that finger and apply a couple of drops of blood on a filter.
Said filter is introduced into a reactive liquid, stirred and in two hours the results are obtained: if the color that appears is blue, wait child; If it's transparent, girl.
The analysis consists of identify a DNA fragment of the Y chromosome in the mother's blood, which can only be detected on the assumption that the sex of the baby is male. If it is not detected, it will be female.
In the case of a multiple pregnancy, if the chromosome is detected and the color blue appears, it is known that at least one of the fetuses will be a child, although the number cannot be specified. Only if there is no color in the test can you ensure that all fetuses are female.
Now you can use MyTest Baby, but not in the compact version to take home. Some clinics offer it to pregnant women, although the results are expected to wait a little longer because blood samples are taken to the laboratories for analysis.
The kit is based on a proprietary technology called Beli (specific biosensors of fast reading). This patent can be used for a pregnancy test such as MyTest Baby, but also for the rapid detection of genetic mutations.
In the world there are other previous investigations that detect the sex of the baby in the first trimester, although this is the first test that will be marketed in pharmacies in Spain, and may soon reach other countries that have shown interest in it.
It is expected to be on sale in pharmacies shortly, and at a price of around one hundred euros, which can be an excessive figure for many families, although others consider it more affordable and especially consider that it is worth spending that money in the predictor kit. Would you pay so much to know the baby's sex so early?
The test has a 99% reliability, greater than that of the traditional ultrasound (for which we would still have to wait a few weeks) and according to its creators, if after the birth it is proven that the sex of the baby is different from that issued in the test report will be refunded the amount paid for the kit.
The main advantage of this method is that it is a non-invasive technique (a simple finger prick is enough for the test) and fast, and it can be done long before the traditional ultrasound.
Although reliable results have been assumed since the fourth week of gestation, manufacturers recommend conducting the test around the eighth week to increase the concentration of fetal blood in the mother's bloodstream.
Personally, I consider that at such an early date of pregnancy, when the risk of pregnancy not getting ahead is higher, knowing if the embryo is male or female can be inconvenient.
I imagine that many families who decide not to give the news of the pregnancy before time (for prudence, for what may happen, for waiting a few more weeks to put face, name, the son) would agree with this perception.
And another tricky issue is the use that can be made of this test to confirm that what is sought "at all costs" is a male or female and subsequent decisions to probable "disappointments."
In spite of this, I am sure that, although the price may throw back many families, and others consider that it is too early to know if a child will come, MyTest Baby analysis confirming the sex of the baby from four weeks It will have enough demand among the most impatient.
Official Site | Mygen
Photo | Enokson on Flickr
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