91% of parents want to know the sex of their future child

Nine out of ten parents know the sex of their child before birth according to a study by INED (National Institute of Demographic Studies) published this Wednesday. They say they want to prepare for his arrival and “build the bond” with him. Exactly 91% of couples asked to know the sex of the child before birth, according to this study carried out on a representative sample of 18,000 births in 2011 from the Elfe survey (French longitudinal study since childhood).

The parents justify this request by "the need to prepare for the arrival of the child" by choosing the child's first name, purchasing clothes, arranging the room, preparing the brothers and sisters for the baby's arrival, indicate the researchers. Fathers and mothers also say they want to “build the bond” with the child by “humanizing the fetus,” according to researchers who believe that this step “places the unborn child in a system of gendered values.” It's not a question of preference. Moreover, less than half of mothers (45%) and fathers (41%) express a particular desire for the sex of their future child.

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The youngest parents (under 30 years old) and those who are parents for the first time are the most curious about the nature of the sex of the fetus. This is also the case for parents of two children who have only had boys or only girls compared to those who already have mixed siblings. “The desire to have at least one girl and one boy” is “commonly observed in European countries” and “knowing the sex in anticipation would give them time to adapt to possible momentary disappointment with sex announced,” explain the researchers.

With the widespread use of fetal ultrasounds appearing in the 1970s, “asking to know the sex of the unborn child has become the norm” note researchers from the National Institute of Demographic Studies. It is between the 22nd and 24th week of amenorrhea that the ultrasound can give the sex of the child. However, for 1.7% of births, when the fetus is intersex, the binary determination will be more complex.

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Although one couple in ten does not ask for it, there are three times more of them in highly educated environments (15%) than in lowly educated environments (5%). Educated people in fact have fewer gender preferences, according to this study published in the journal Population et Sociétés. “Existing studies on the subject mainly concern Asian countries,” such as India and China. In certain countries, sex determination leads to abortions of female fetuses, a phenomenon which “has not been observed in the French context”, finally notes INED.