Learn Baby's Sex Early? Half Say No

July 25, 2007 -- U.S. adults are split on whether they would want to learn the sex of their baby before birth, according to a new Gallup poll.

Gallup polled some 1,000 U.S. adults by telephone in late June. Participants were asked if they would want to learn their baby's sex if they had just found out that they were having a baby.

The results: 51% said they would want to wait until the baby was born, 47% said they would want to know before the birth, and 2% didn't express an opinion.

Some people were more likely to say they wanted to learn their baby's sex during pregnancy.

For instance, 58% of people who already had a child wanted to know their baby's gender before birth. So did two-thirds of young adults aged 18-34.

Other people preferred to wait until birth to learn their baby's sex. They included 63% of Catholics and 56% of people who say they attend religious services at least once a month.

What if one parent wants to learn the baby's sex and the other wants to wait until the baby is born? The poll didn't look at that.

Doctors may be able to determine a baby's sex while doing prenatal ultrasound tests on the mother. Ultrasound images show the baby, and those images may reveal the baby's gender.

Of course, parents-to-be have the option of asking their doctor not to tell them whether it's a boy or a girl during pregnancy, if they so choose.