How early can I know the gender of twins?

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Recently, I was asked by a dad expecting twins, “How early can I know the gender of twins?”

While you can try our twins’ gender prediction calculator, there are really two ways to determine the gender of your twins before birth, one via blood work and the other via ultrasound. Let’s see what each of those mean for your twin gender reveal:

Twin Gender Determination via Blood Testing

Is it possible to tell if twins are different genders through a blood test?

If you do any kind of chromosomal testing, this can help determine the gender of your twins a few weeks earlier than an ultrasound.

While there isn’t a specific twin gender test, there is a routine medical test that can help give us some clues. Yes, you can find out gender of your twins with a blood test.

Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a test typically done around 10 weeks of the pregnancy to screen for Down Syndrome. As this test looks at DNA, it will see the chromosomes of your babies. However, because you’re having twins, the sample will include DNA from both babies.

Remember from your Biology class that males have XY chromosomes and females have XX.

Can NIPT tell gender of twins? It depends…

If your NIPT test indicates the presence of a Y chromosome, you’ll be having at least one boy. You will need to wait for your ultrasound to give the final determination of two boys or boy/girl twins.

If NIPT doesn’t show any Y chromosomes, the odds are good you’ll be having twin girls.

Blood testing can also give you a hint at the twins’ blood types.

Finding Out Twins’ Gender via Ultrasound

Because a twin pregnancy tends to be a higher-risk pregnancy, your doctor is going to want to keep a close eye on mom and the babies. This means more ultrasounds that could give you a sneak peek at the gender of your twins earlier than a singleton pregnancy.

When can you find out gender of twins? You might discover the gender as early as 12 to 13 weeks into the pregnancy.

How to find gender in a twin pregnancy is a little tricky as you’ll have two very active and squirming babies rolling around inside Mom. One twin may be blocking the view of the other. Or one of your twins may be shy and not want to show you what he (or she) is.

If the view between your babies’ legs is blocked, it will be impossible to identify gender by visual examination on an ultrasound.

However, a trained ultrasound technician or doctor will be able to determine gender with great confidence by 18 weeks.

Should I find out the gender of my twins?

What if you want to keep your twins’ gender a surprise? Go for it!

You can easily keep the gender of your twins a surprise if you communicate that clearly with your medical staff at each ultrasound appointment.

One of your fellow father of twins, Kyle Mongold, and his wife kept their twins’ gender a secret with great success.

Be sure you also handle your family’s expectations, but ultimately, keeping the gender a surprise is up to you and your partner.

How Soon to Prepare for Twins

Many expectant twin parents wonder, “When can I find out the gender of my twins?” so they can start making preparations for a boy, girl, boy/girl twins.

It’s probably best to wait to make twin preparations until you’re past the first trimester when a lot of the risks of the initial pregnancy have ended.

You can always make non-gender-specific preparations for your twins by purchasing things like high chairs and other general baby gear. For example, you know your twins are going to need cribs regardless of whether they’re boys or girls. They will likewise need booster seats, strollers, diapers, and more items that are not gender-specific. Here’s list of some of my favorite twin gear.

Your medical situation may vary. So I definitely want you to ask your doctor when can you find out the gender of twins in your particular situation. And if you are really curious, then I’d definitely ask early on in your twin pregnancy.

Read more of what to expect during the twin pregnancy in my book, the Dad’s Guide to Twins: How to Survive the Twin Pregnancy and Prepare for Your Twins.