Kim Young, birth educator and owner of beautifullyborn.co.za, says she was so surprised back in 2005 to find she was one of two, in an antenatal group of around 30 moms, not to know the sex of their baby.

"I really felt we were in the minority and started to wonder whether we had the disadvantage - that knowing the sex of your baby was the norm. There's no doubt there are advantages in knowing the sex of your baby. Names can be finalised, colour schemes can be chosen, you can buy clothing in advance and it will almost certainly help with bonding. In contrast, the only real advantage in not knowing the sex, is pretty much the surprise factor when baby arrives," explains Kim.

Drawbacks

"One of the drawbacks of knowing the sex can be a feeling of disappointment though - I know some couples that were initially shocked and slightly disappointed (for a short period) with the results from a scan, having been so convinced their baby was a particular sex, only to find out their judgement was wrong. And sonography is not infallible - I also know of a handful of couples that were told the wrong sex," says Kim, emphasizing that she wanted her baby to feel welcome, no matter what sex.

Suspense

"I instinctively knew the sex of each of my babies both times I was pregnant, but did not have it confirmed - I was right both times. Through the labour it almost felt like the increasing suspense of a movie. Then those few moments after my first birth, hearing those words...‘It’s a girl’ ...made it a perfect ending! I have to confess though, during a late scan in my 2^nd pregnancy (having insisted throughout I did not want to know the sex) I tried to bribe the sonographer to tell me whether my baby was a boy or a girl. She refused point blank to tell me. In the end I was glad she stood her ground," remembers Kim. 

Old-fashioned

"Maybe I am just ever so slightly old-fashioned in that I like to leave things as nature intended , many of our parents didn’t have the advantage of knowing our sex beforehand.  I guess I just like surprises - I don’t even poke around at my Christmas presents!"

How do you feel? Would you like to know the sex of your baby? Tell us in the comments section.

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