The Science Behind SneakPeek: How Noninvasive Prenatal DNA Testing Works

Until recently, expectant mothers could only rely on anatomy ultrasounds or expensive noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPTs) to learn the gender of their babies. While anatomy ultrasounds are still a commonly used method for determining gender, they’re unable to identify a baby’s gender until around 18 to 20 weeks into pregnancy —that’s halfway through your second trimester!

By this point in your pregnancy, you’ve likely already started picking out decor for your nursery, stockpiling adorable baby onesies, and creating a Pinterest board of your favorite themed baby shower ideas.

Although noninvasive prenatal testing is performed earlier in pregnancy (around 10 to 12 weeks), they’re only covered by insurance if your doctor orders the test because you’re experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. This is because physician-prescribed NIPTs are used primarily to screen for chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome— not to test for gender. If you aren’t experiencing a high-risk pregnancy and your doctor doesn’t order this test, you’d have to pay as much as $1000 out of pocket to take advantage of it.

That’s why SneakPeek created the SneakPeek Early Gender DNA Test—a noninvasive, at-home prenatal test that can determine fetal gender sooner.

How does this at-home test work?

The SneakPeek test examines the cell-free fetal DNA in mom’s bloodstream to determine whether she’s carrying a little boy or a little girl. Since women naturally only have X chromosomes within their blood, SneakPeek Labs tests for the presence of Y chromosomes, which are only found in males. If Y chromosomes are detected within the maternal blood sample, it means that her uterus’s new tenant is a boy. If not, she’s a girl.

The New Study: Sneaking a Peek into Gender Even Sooner

Previously, a study of 1,029 blood samples from expectant mothers found that SneakPeek’s Early Gender DNA Test was over 99% accurate1 in determining fetal gender at 8 weeks into pregnancy. In this study, boys were correctly identified in 505 of 506 samples, while girls were correctly identified in 523 of 523 samples.

Following the success of this study, we wanted to push the envelope even further and offer a test that could accurately determine gender sooner than 8 weeks. So, we went back into the lab to optimize our test. Then, to validate its clinical performance, a controlled study involving 125 volunteers from 12 independent ultrasound clinics was conducted.

The Controlled Study

Ready to get into some serious science? Don’t worry, this won’t be as painful as your high school chemistry classes. We’ll break down the testing process step-by-step and define all the terms you need to know.

At the start of the study, each volunteer provided a 3 to 4 mL blood sample at roughly 7 weeks into their pregnancy, which was run through the SneakPeek testing process 1 to 3 days after collection. In order to examine the cell-free fetal DNA sample within the blood, the plasma (i.e. the liquid portion of blood, which makes up about 55% of our bloo) needed to be separated from the whole blood (i.e. the remaining 45% of the blood, which is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) .

So how do you separate the various parts of blood? This is done with the help of a centrifuge—a piece of high-tech machinery that spins blood at a speed fast enough to separate plasma, blood cells, and platelets.

In this study, blood samples were centrifuged at a force of 1,600g for 15 minutes. This allowed researchers to use cutting-edge DNA extraction technology to isolate the cell-free fetal DNA from the maternal plasma. Then, the SneakPeek testing process was used to detect the presence of Y chromosomes (i.e. male chromosomes ) within this cell-free fetal DNA.

So how did we fare at 7 weeks?

The Big Reveal: What the Results Showed

Of the 125 participants in the study, 59 were found to be carrying boys, while 66 were found to be carrying girls. The SneakPeek Early Gender Test correctly identified all 59 of the 59 male pregnancies and all 66 of the 66 female pregnancies, resulting in 100% accuracy in this publication.

So if you’re looking to learn the gender of your baby sooner than ever before, you can trust SneakPeek to provide you with accurate results based on whether we find a Y chromosome presence within your blood sample.

The Benefits of Learning Your Baby’s Gender Early

Pregnancy is an intimate, personal, and life-changing experience. You’re literally growing a tiny human inside of your uterus. Before this point, your only interaction with your uterus was likely groaning at it once a month. By learning more about the process of your pregnancy, the incredible capabilities of your body, and the little one living inside of you, you can develop a deeper connection with yourself, as well as your new baby.

In fact, in one SneakPeek survey of expectant mothers, 51.3% stated that learning the gender of their baby early provided them with a greater sense of agency over their pregnancy.

But there are many reasons you may want to learn your baby’s gender sooner than your second trimester. In a 2019 survey of 1,113 expectant mothers, the motivations behind an early gender reveal included:

• Wanting to start shopping for the baby at 78.6%
• Curiosity at 77.5%
• Being able to share the news with family and friends at 54.2%

Imagine being able to announce your pregnancy and the gender of your baby at the same time. Not only can doing so make sharing the news with your husband or partner even more memorable, but it also means you can surprise your family and friends with a gender reveal party even sooner (and we love any excuse for cake—er, we mean, a party).

Learning the gender of your baby early in your pregnancy can also have medical benefits. For instance, knowing whether you’re expecting a little boy or a little girl can help you determine the likelihood of any sex-based genetic disorders, making early gender detection both a personally-satisfying and medically-beneficial choice.

For Exclusive Insight Into Your Little One, Trust SneakPeek

You’ve already waited months to conceive. Why wait a second longer to find out if your little miracle will be a he or a she? With the SneakPeek Accurate Early Gender Test, you can quell your curiosity and connect with your baby as early as 7 weeks into your pregnancy. And with the outcome of this latest study, you can feel confident knowing your test result is clinically-proven to be accurate.

Plus, the SneakPeek test can be taken from the comfort of your own home. Choose from one of three different at-home gender test options, including:

• SneakPeek Gender Lancet – With a manual finger-prick, you can collect your maternal blood sample and receive your results the day after we receive your sample.
• SneakPeek Gender Snap – Simply pop the patented Snap device onto your arm, and sit while it collects your small sample for you. It’s easy and virtually pain free!
• SneakPeek Gender Snap FastTrack – With our FastTrack option, we provide the fastest shipping speeds available, and you receive your gender test result the same day we receive your sample.

Additionally, SneakPeek Clinical offers an early fetal sex test at a doctor’s office for those who prefer a clinical setting. Visit a participating location to have your maternal blood sample collected on-site, and receive results via email the next day, with no extra fuss!

With all the gender reveal planning, nursery decorating, and baby shopping to do, who has time to wait 20 weeks to learn whether they’re having a little boy or a little girl? Find our at-home baby gender test near you, or order online today. Stop waiting, and start celebrating, with SneakPeek.