Topic summary
Gender assignment
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Sex assignment.
Sex assignment or gender assignment is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the newborn's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the vast majority of cases (99.95%), sex is assigned unambiguously at birth. However, in about 1 in 2000 births, the baby's genitals may not clearly appear male or female, necessitating additional diagnostic steps, and deferring sex assignment. In most countries, healthcare providers submit a record of the infant's assigned sex and other details of the birth to the government for later issuance of a birth certificate and for other legal purposes.