Can Your Doctor Give You the Gender in a Sealed Envelope?
Yes. Asking for the baby's sex in a sealed envelope is one of the most common requests sonographers and clinics get, especially from parents planning a gender reveal. How you ask depends on how the result reaches you.
At an ultrasound scan
Tell the sonographer at the start of the appointment, before they begin scanning:
"We'd like to find out the sex, but we don't want to know today. Could you write it down and seal it for us?"
Most will happily write it on a card or a printout and seal it in an envelope. Some clinics keep envelopes and cards just for this. Ask them to let you know before they look, so you can turn away from the screen.
Not every hospital will tell you the sex at a routine scan, so check when you book. Private scan clinics usually offer it.
After an NIPT or blood test
Blood test results are usually sent to you directly, which makes a sealed envelope harder. When you have the test, ask:
- whether the sex can be left out of your report or sent separately, and
- whether a nominated person (a partner, friend or relative) can receive it instead.
Policies vary between clinics and labs. Our guide to gender reveals with blood test results covers this in more detail.
On a results phone call
If your midwife or clinic is going to call, say at the start of the call that you don't want to hear the sex. Ask if they can tell someone else instead, or give it to you in writing for someone else to open.
The digital version of the envelope
Paper envelopes can get lost, opened by accident, or need to travel across town to a bakery. Gender Envelope is a free digital alternative:
- Open genderenvelope.com on your phone at the scan and tap Start.
- Hand the phone to your sonographer or doctor. They tap Boy or Girl and seal it. The screen stays blank afterwards.
- Lock it with a 4-digit PIN, then send the link to your baker, party planner or family.
It also works when someone else reads a blood test result for you: they seal the answer, and you get the link without seeing it.
Good to know
- Sonographers can't always see the sex clearly, depending on the baby's position and how far along you are.
- Ultrasound and blood test results for sex are usually right, but neither is guaranteed. If you have questions, ask your clinic.
Try it free: your doctor seals boy or girl on your phone, and you share a link and PIN.
Make a gender envelopeMore guides
How to Tell Your Baker the Gender (and Keep It a Surprise)The easiest ways to get your baby's gender to the baker for a reveal cake without finding out yourself, including a free digital envelope your doctor seals.
How to Ask Your Sonographer to Keep the Gender a SecretWhat to say at your scan so the sonographer keeps your baby's gender a secret but records it for your gender reveal, and what to do if they won't tell.
Gender Reveal with NIPT or Blood Test ResultsGot your baby's gender from an NIPT or early blood test? How to keep the result a surprise and pass it to your baker or family for a gender reveal.
How to Avoid Accidentally Finding Out Your Baby's GenderPlanning a gender reveal? The most common ways parents find out the sex by accident (scan screens, results portals, notes, friends) and how to avoid each one.
Small Gender Reveal Ideas Without a PartySimple, low-key gender reveal ideas for just the two of you, your family or a video call, with no party planning needed.