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Hi Lovelies!
I am just wondering how certain your sonographer was when they told you the gender of your bubba. I had mine tonight and he was only 80% certain and got the result from measuring a particular bone. He then proceeded to tell me that although he believed the heart was fine it is not possible to pick up small holes or cleft palates. Is this normal??? I'm a little worried now....:confused:
Thanks!
MG :)
Thanks Jillian. He had to measure the bone because he couldn't see the genitals due to the umbilical cord being in the way.
MG
Hi, When we had a U/S done around week 25, we were told we were having a girl. The sonographer also pointed out the 3 lines to us. Anyway, we went on to have a beatiful Darling SON instead!!! Still, a very nice suprise in the end after all LOL!!
I'm not sure about them being able to pick up clef's or holes in the heart. I would ask a few Doc's to see if they know the answers to your questions. Come to think of it... I reckon Ryn might know? Hopefully she reads this thread and may be able to answer your questions.
Good luck
Just recently the sister of one of my friends had a baby with a severe cleft lip and palate - they were picked up at the 20 week scan, so presumably they can be detected that early. I'd say the sonographer was just covering all his bases.
BW
Ally, bless you for thinking I'm the font of all knowledge!
Cleft Lip is detected at the 20w scan, but as this is classed as a severe enough "deformity/disability" for a termination, some sonographers won't tell you about it. This is a completely treatable and fixable condition and the poor child who can be just 6-7w from birth and then terminated because it isn't "beautiful" enough for the parents! Yes, so that's the law in the UK and that's why you aren't always told about it.
Hole in the heart: actually, right up until the baby is born they have a small hole in the heart, so it's normal to have this and doesn't mean any treatment is required. I believe the hole closes up when the baby takes the first breath at birth, before then the lungs don't work so it's a way to ensure that the lungs get some oxygenated blood for their development. I could be wrong about this though, but that's what I've been told.
As for the bone - was it the ribs? Women have one more rib than men. But I've not heard of that being used as a way of determining gender on an ultrasound before.
That's what I presumed too BW but wanted to check with the lovely BB girls! Thanks hon.
Elly - yeah, I can check with the midwife at work but wanted some peace of mind! Tee hee - so impatient! Maybe I should trust the bone measurement then? It's just funny because EVERYONE (except my sister) told me I'm having a boy and then the sonographer says I'm 80% having a girl! Tee hee.
thanks fletch! DH actually suggested booking in for a 3D scan in about a month and finding out then. But I kind of wanted to be definitive NOW so I can buy clothes! Tee hee - so impatient aren't I?
Ryn! I knew you wouldnt let me down he he he!!! I am learning so much from you eh!
MG; Everyone "knew" I was having a boy too! However we didnt tell anyone that we found out the sex, lucky really LOL. Though we have since started telling everyone, cos we were so shocked about it, and its really quite funny. DH alway said that it was a boy, and he has been right with everyone so far, so I should have listened to him!!! Even after coming out of the U/S when we found out, DH said to me, Nup I still think boy!!!
It would be pretty rare for them to get it wrong I would say. The only other person I know was a girl who i went to school with. They also told her that she was having a girl and she ended up with a boy too!!! Only she went to the trouble of painting out a pink room, wooops!!
There's nothing wrong with being impatient LOL! I was the same too!! I cant see the harm in finding out the gender, and buying things accordingly. Just keep your reciepts just in case!!!!
Good luck and all the very best with everything.
Ryn - just saw your post. It was a rin in the pelvic region - I'm told that is how they can often tell between male and female. It is a very common measurement done in "post mortum" cases where the bodies are beyond recognition. There are varying degrees of holes in the heart but as a PACU nurse I am not adverse to surgery if it is needed and have cared for more than my share of children having surgery on the cleft. More just concerned about what the guy said and it's implications. I'm sure like BW said, he was just covering his bases.
MG
MG ~ If it makes you feel better I was told the same thing. The scans are great for picking up abnormalities etc but there are just some that cannot be detected and will be discovered at birth. I think they tell you this so if something does happen to go wrong you can't say 'but at the u/s...' iywkim.
Thanks Lea - that's what I thought too but wanted to get confirmation from the lovely BB girls!
Hi girls,
As Ryn said, yes, there is a little hole in the heart,,,,well, it is actually a little tube that kinda bypasses the lungs etc.. When bubs has its first breath, the valve shuts and closes. This is called the Patent ductus arteriosis. I know all about this as when my first DS was born at 28 weeks, his didnt shut properly. At 15 months old, he was only an average 6 month old baby's weight, and hadnt put on an ounce in about 4 months.
I had to go to the prince charles hospital in Brissie, and he had closed heart surgery on it 3 days after losing my DD. Now he is a lean, tall 10 year old full of energy.
MG
How nice of your DH to suggest the 3D scan!! How sweet.
My U/S scan which as you know i had on thurs, was a relatively quick one although the sonographer said there were no abnormalties. There is no cleft palate or anything.. and yes you do have a small hole in your heart untill your born, and it normally does close.
I was unfortunate enough to have a VSD repair when i was 8 and i have made a full recovery.. Mind you they didnt pick it up on the u/s coz it was almost 26 years ago!!
I think you should take up DH on his offer and get the 3D and then you will know for sure!
Keep your receipts just in case!
Thanks Jen and Lil. There is a history of holes in the heart in my family (brother and sister. Sister has open heart surg at age 8 months). I think I will take DH up on it Jen. Thanks ladies!
Hi My sonographer didnt even go between the legs before telling me what he thought he also didnt fully check the heart(didn't even get to hear the heart beat) I dont know if you can fully trust them till the babies born - my girlfriend was told all along it was a girl but joshua popped into the world
In my experiences probably 90% of women who found out what they were having had what they were told. I did look after one woman who told me she had 5 scans and was told she was having a girl each time and what do you know out popped a boy! She was so, so, so shocked. Had the nursery painted pink, pink clothes, pink everything!
Like the other girls have said, the sonographers tend to add the "it's impossible to ensure the absence of abnormalities" spiel either verbally or on the report (usually always on the report) to protect themselves from litigation - kinda like how the MO's have to go through all of the risks of a procedure with a patient prior to them signing the consent form. All about litigation!!!
Ryn, i can't believe they perform TOP's for clefts in the UK :eek:
We were told at our 24 week scan that we were having a boy, she pointed out the penis to us (not that we could tell what the hell we were looking at, lol) and she was correct.
LOL - DH said the same thing about not being able to make anything out! It's a little different for me with my training though.:
Thanks for all your responses girls. I'm glad the general consensus is that he just added that little bit at the end to cover himself. PHEW!
MG its so hard & confusing & I think the main thing with sonography is that it all depends on the level of the sonographer as well. With Matilda I went to see one of "the best" sonographer's in Brissy (my close friend works in sonography & got me in to see this person) and they refused to even guess at a gender because the "bits" weren't shown to us. After 90 minutes of scanning he just said "Nope, sorry..." so we were left guessing.
With this little one, at the 19 week scan the sonographer said she would guess at 80% that it is a girl, but would never be able to give a 100% guess unless she saw a penis definitively. At another scan later on, the sonographer said he couldn't as well but they were checking placental issues and not really focusing on that, but then partway through the scan he stopped & said "Those are her vaginal folds...pretty obvious now" and so we are more sure now...
I think with holes in the hearts & cleft palates they really have to cover themselves, jic. Because our society would blame them for not picking something up, its easier to just say "Nothing is positive" until the baby comes. ykwim? However stressful that is for us as parents to be, at least he didn't find something obvious during the scan. *hugs*
Thanks Christy - such calming words! I actually said to DH (and I might have mentioned it here too) that I can handle holes in the heart and cleft palates because I know they can be surgically fixed (as unplesant as it might be to endure for everyone involved) - it's just a piece of mind thing!
MG :)
A friend of mine had a little boy last year with a cleft palate & it wasn't picked up on the ultrasound, so it might be that one fletch....
At our last U/S the sonographer said she was 80% certain it was a girl, but could not get the right angle to be certain. Now I am starting to think its best to remain on the neutral end of the spectrum until the baby arrives. I don't mind either way, but I am not sure that I want to paint the room pink if there is a one in 5 chance it should be blue.:) :) :) I guess the beauty in buying non gender specific clothes is that they can be used for the next bub :hug:
The midwife i saw at our hospital said that she has delivered about 13 bubs that came out different to what the parents thought - all came out boys and were all thought to be girls! DH wants to know the sex but i figure unless it can be 100% accurate, i'm still going to wonder. So we're keeping everything unisex until the birth. The only the other way is if little bubs obviously salutes us at the 19 weeks u/s and i can see it! It's hard though - i'm sure it will be harder on the day of the u/s, got ot be strong though!!
Mothergoose - it must be the thing for us girls due in mid to late feb - coz guess what! Our little munchkin hid her/his bits with the umbilical cord today during our 19w ultrasound.
Armed with the advice you got last week from your sonographer about the measurement of the bone - I boldly asked the sonographer if they could do that for us instead. The sonographer said she had never heard of any bone being able to determine the gender and that as far as she knew there is no difference in bone length between the sexes at 19w. She wasn't even prepared to make a guess.
So now I am really interested in this pelvic bone measurement thingy - so I'm going to see what I can find out. I'll certainly be having something to say to my obstetrician if the sonographer at the clinic he refers to isn't up with the technology!
Oh Kar!!!!!! Well - I have an appointment with the Ob next Thursday and am going to ask about it then - I will let you know what she says. When's your appointment? I'm also going to do some research - with all the texts I have at home one of them has to have something about it!!!!!!!!
Let me know how you go.
MG
My Ob appointment is next Tuesday. Definitely on my list of things to discuss.
Hi, I had my ultrasound at 18 weeks where they picked up a small hole in the heart but said that it was perfectly normal and that it would close up prior to the birth and predicted a 99.99% chance that we were having a little girl. In february I gave birth to a healthy baby girl, lol.
Thought I would update you guys - my Ob told me that she couldn't imagine the sonographer being like that. Pft. I didn't imagine it! But she said that it sounded like Friday afternoonitis. Rightio then! Anyway - on the bone measurement thing - she said she wouldn't be rushing out to buy anything pink! So Kar, I guess we have our answer!
Love MG
MG - what a bummer - that means both of us are in the dark then... I really have to wonder sometimes at people who just seem to not care what they are saying or just run off at the mouth. I think they like to hear the sound of their own voice or something....
I couldn't find anything at all in the medical literature talking about any bone or hip measurement showing a gender difference in ultrasounds either. I spent about 3 hours using every combination of words I could think of.
tee hee Fletch! I agree! And I am ripping my hair out! I WANT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tee hee.