Intelligender kits? Can this work??

[science_spot]

Here is one of those things I would really like to understand better, as I imagine many ladies on Cafemom would as well.  The Intelligender Kit claims to predict the sex of your unborn baby based on the color of your urine after it reacts with their special collection bottle.  They provide an easy-to-use color evalution swatch, with examples shown on their website.

You can perform the tests between your 10th and 34th week of pregnancy.  They claim an independent testing lab showed greater than 90% accuracy, with real-world results (by survey) at 82%.  The difference in accuracy may be due to the fact color decision making is not alawys as easy as the pictures make it seem, and other variations people tend to perform instead of following the directions exactly.

The don't state on the website exactly how it works, which isn't surprising, but they do give two important hints in the FAQs.  First, their paragraph about multiples indicates they are testing for something that is positive when carrying boys and negative when carrying girls.  They also say if you have PCOS or are taking progesterone, the test result will show a boy.  I think it is reasonable to guess at least one part of this test is presence of progesterone, OR progesterone also happens to drive the chemical reaction toward positive (boy).

How does it work?  It seems you have urine, and a wide variety of components in the urine.  You add that to a cup that has some sort of chemical substance in it already.  They react, causing a color change to green (boy) or orange (girl).  But what is in the cup and what is in the urine?  A quick search for the patent on this kit gives more information, specifically that the chemical in the cup is either potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide (strong bases) and aluminum particles (metallic).  These dry particles react with the "special components" in wet urine and the reaction automatically goes to completion, ending in a color change.  Read the patent description, if you are interested in more details. 

What I find most interesting is that on news shows and such, they always say that since the patent is pending, the company refuses to give out their research data showing how the product works (which would quiet the skeptics).  What is funny about this, is that near the end of their patent application, they acknowledge that it is not currently known what components in the urine are reacting!   They recognize that there is no measureable pregnancy-induced hormonal difference in urine from women carrying boys versus girls, so there must be some other difference in the chemical make-up of the urine.

That isn't necessarily a flaw in the kit.  There are many substances in use that we don't understand HOW they work, yet agree that the data supports the fact they do indeed work.  So of course, I went looking for the data, which I found in their patent application (flip the drop down on the right to "PDF 23 pages").  Most of the incorrect predictions were noted as "two early" or "insufficient sample " (urine), indicating how important it is to follow the instructions exactly for best results.  However, even when I take in all those wrong predictions, I get an accuracy rate of 85% (using their data).  Not bad, if the data is true.  I would like to see if we can generate some data of our own (see poll).

The most interesting thing about their data is that missed predictions are often due to testing prior to 20 weeks, but on their website you can test "as early as 10 weeks", without mentioning the lower accuracy rate.  So, if you are going to purchase this kit, I suggest to wait until after your 20th week to test, for best results.

If YOU have used this kit, please vote in the poll and we'll see what our accuracy rate our Cafemommies have!  Please vote this journal as popular so hopefully we will have a large number of votes (because larger sample size is always better).

 

Tonya

AKA sunmoonstars

The Science Spot

 

 

 

[kfroz0415]

Sep. 16, 2009 at 12:29 PM

Idk if you would be interested in this but here is a blog that has a survey attached all about whether or not the intelligender was correct.

http://www.in-gender.com/cs/forums/t/18949.aspx

[Ginanne]

Sep. 16, 2009 at 1:12 PM

i saw this thing, and checked out the website... waste of money in my opinion... if you have to wait to 20 weeks for an accurate result... just get an ultrasound!

[AmaliaD]

Sep. 16, 2009 at 1:25 PM

mine had both colors!  i did it right, read directions like 5 times,  and it was a layer of green over a layer of orange!!! it is a waste.  i waited until exactly 20 weeks,  i think the chinese calendar or string test is just as accurate (both said boy and i had a boy)  and they are free.  dont waste your money. 

[StifflersMom82]

Sep. 16, 2009 at 2:00 PM

The chinese calender said I was having a girl, and I had a boy..

[MommyKKay]

Sep. 16, 2009 at 6:18 PM

Worked for me I tested at 13 weeks.

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