Six-week test for baby's gender

Updated 10.57 Fri May 04 2007

Keywords: chromosome, pregnancy, abortion, DNA

Women in Britain can now discover the gender of their unborn baby just six weeks into their pregnancy.

DNA Worldwide is selling testing kits over the internet for £189.95 that provides everything needed to take a prick of blood from the mother. The sample is returned for testing and the result known in a maximum of six business days.

The test is claimed to be 99 per cent accurate and couples will get their money back if it wrongly predicts the sex of their child

The kit is expected to stir up controversy about the ethics of abortions with the suggestion that couples could "play God" and abort children if they are not of the gender they want.

The company website explains how foetal DNA is present in an expectant mother's blood as soon as six weeks into pregnancy.

DNA from a Y-chromosome is picked up by the test, meaning a boy can be "confidently" predicted. If there is no Y-chromosome DNA, the company can state "with equal confidence" that the baby will be a girl.

The test is claimed to be 99 per cent accurate and couples will get their money back if it wrongly predicts the sex of their child.

It is not recommended for women who have had a miscarriage, abortion or blood transfusion.

The launch of the test comes after a poll revealed that almost a quarter of GPs refuse to sign abortion referral forms and nearly one in five believe it should not be legal.