Other companies soon began popping up. Consumer Genetics introduced its $195 Pink or Blue test in 2006, promising on its website 95% accuracy just seven weeks after conception. The company has sold more than 3,500 kits, said Lily Nguyen, the company's product manager for Pink or Blue.
It may seem a frivolous use of DNA. But the genetic tests are relatively inexpensive, and some parents figure there is no harm in learning the sex of their baby a little earlier than the usual 10 to 16 weeks needed for traditional medical tests, such as ultrasound.
For the Jains, the test was for more than mere curiosity.
Geeta discovered the Pink or Blue test on the Internet after an unexpected pregnancy presented the couple with a dilemma.
She wanted to keep the baby, but Rohit wasn't sure. With two daughters already, the family's finances were a bit strained. Could they really afford a third child?
Geeta countered with another question: What if the baby were a boy?
In traditional Indian culture, sons are prized because they will grow up to manage the family resources and support their parents in old age, even lighting their funeral pyres.
All Geeta had to do was prick a finger and mail a sample of dried blood to the company's laboratory.
"I don't know anything about biology, but it looked like it should be true," Rohit said. "It's DNA. It cannot be wrong."
The results arrived in March and stated that the baby was a boy. Geeta was ecstatic. Over the summer, she traveled to India for three weeks and offered prayers of thanks for the son she was carrying.
The Jains had no reason to doubt the test until their daughter Anika was born. Though incorrect results are usually revealed during routine ultrasound exams, fear of gender selection prevents many Canadian doctors from revealing a baby's sex.
After the initial shock and a tinge of sadness, the family quickly bonded with Anika, Rohit said, adding that they never bothered to seek a refund. "Anybody can start this business and keep half of the money even if they refund for wrong results, according to the law of probability," he noted.
The reasons for taking the tests are as varied as the families that buy them.
Erin Rivera, a homemaker in Zephyrhills, Fla., took the test in her ninth week so she could share the news as soon as possible with husband Anthony, who was deployed in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard.
