Do you want to find out the sex of your unborn child?
 

For most of us this is a hypothetical question at this point in our lives but I'll ask it anyway: If you or your partner were pregnant, would you want to find out what sex the child is or would you prefer to leave it as a surprise?

Most people I know say they want to leave it as a surprise. I used to agree until I had a good long think about the issue. I couldn't come up with any real moral or ethical reasons not to find out (at least given my morals and ethics which may well be slightly tarnished). But I did come up with some good reasons why it's good to find out.

-It's a lot easier to choose a name, instead of one for each sex.
-You can prepare gender-specific toys and clothing if thats your thing.

So what do you think?

I'll say yes.

I'd prefer to know the decorationg layout, clothing, name, etc... ahead of time. No need to bother yourself or others with bigender gifts and setups.

I'm with Nate and everyone else so far... I'm such a conformist! I'll probably be an obsessive mom when it comes to decorating my baby's room, naming it, etc. My kid will be lucky if it has a name within a month.

There is no way on Earth I would want to know the gender of my unborn child. I think pregnancy looses some of its natural awe when you learn of the baby's gender before birth. I can buy clothes and paint the room later (obviously not when the baby is sleeping in the room though, I wouldn't want it suffocating from paint fumes :p).

Alcar...

Erm, i'm hoping for the whole Biological engineering thing to be legalised and advanced when i start wanting children. Just so i can have 2 Bio engineered kiddles, and 1 natural.

But with the natural one, nah.

I'm currently of the mind that I don't want children, but if the worst came to the worst, I most certainly wouldn't want to find out beforehand. Gender-specific really isn't my cup of tea. That includes names.

I knew the sex of both of my kids before they were born. It helps with shopping.

Max and Alcar: why don't you want to know. Is it something that can be explained or is it just a 'vibe'?

Jacob, you sound like someone who's seen GATTACA.

At first I was thinking yes, but then I remembered one thing. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if, on the big day, the doctor said "It's a boy!" or "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. So-And-So, it's a girl!" and you said "I know."? I mean. . . wow. Way to suck all the excitement out of it.

So I say stay in the dark. If this whole "birth" deal is all it's cracked up to be, you know, the way it's portrayed by the media, then I'd like it to be a surprise.

I guess it can be explained. My Mother didn't want to know mine, and my siblings genders before we were born. She says she was able to tell what gender we where solely herself. And I believe her.

Although I know I'll never be able to guess the gender of my unborn children (as I'm not the Mother, and the Mother always has the strongest connection), I still feel it would be a travesty to know. I guess, it is also a vibe, such that it would ruin the miracle of reproduction that nature so magnificantly creates.

Alcar...

I don't particularly care. I would let my partner decide.