Do they ever get the gender wrong at 20 week scan?

Hi Gals,
Just wondering if anyone out there was told they were having a boy/girl only to find out later in the pg or at birth that the baby was the opposite sex of what they were told?

At my 16 week check up with my Ob, he did a scan and we asked if he could check gender. He pointed out to us a "penis" and declared we were having a boy. As we weren't too fussed about which we were having we started planning to have our little prince at home.

Yesterday I had my ultrasound at 21 weeks. We asked the sonographer to confirm the baby was a boy. He had a look and pointed out on the screen the 3 white lines of the labia and stated it was not a boy, but we were having a girl! I asked the sonographer to check and he again pointed out the girlie bits and said he was 99% certain it was a girl. Well I almost fell off the bed in shock and now neither DH or I know what to think!

Any ideas who is more likely to be right? :confused:

I would say your 20wks scan would be right.
I had a scan at 16wks and the OB doing it said he thought it was a good but too early to tell and he was right but ours was confirmed from having a amnio done.

I think someone on here got told the wrong gender at a scan. Will they be giving you anymore scans ? If yes then ask again then.
I was also shown a few weeks ago the white line that you are talking about.

Thanks Michelle. Yes I think the later the scan, the more accurate it is. Our ob will do a check up scan at our next app - he has one of the small u/s machines in his rooms - and he said that we should be able to tell for certain then.

But I am worried that I will get used to the idea of it being a girl now and then might be surprised again...

We were told at our morph scan that we were having a little boy back in 1998. A few weeks later, after a bleed I had another scan and we were told that our boy had changed into a girl! She came out with all girly bits intact and not a spout to be seen! Of course, technology is different today from eight years ago.

a girl in our antenatal group was told she was having a girl, did the room in pink bought all the pink clothes and it was a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gee - how confusing!!!! I would prob go with the later scan - especially if he was able to point out the labia with accuracy - but another scan would be a good idea if you are still really unsure. Good luck :D

Yes I have heard even late scans being wrong - Kelli D who used to post had 3 saying girl - but it was a boy :)

I had an experience similar to Tiggy's. My daughter born in 1995 was a boy!!!

I would not regard the early scan as accurate. I have worked with a fetal med obs and he is outraged by the number of women told prior to 20 weeks that they are having a particular sex. It is simply not accurate.

The later the u/s the more likely that you will get an accurate result. At 16 weeks the baby is only about 16cms long so the penis if there is one is minute. Even on fabbo equipment this is extremely difficult to predict accurately.

If your u/s place uses state of the art equipment and there is a good visual of the pubic area a result at 20 weeks is likely to be quite accurate.
As Kelly says this can still be wrong - however these days the accuracy rate is much much higher than ever before.

:hug: to you with this confusion...

I would have thought the later scan would be able to show bubs sex more accurately.

but they do get it wrong sometimes. My cousin got told they were having a girl and they ended up having a boy.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I am leaning towards it being a girl now but I think we will ask for another scan in 4 weeks time to make sure....well as sure as it could be!

i know of three people that were told girl at their 20 weeks scan only to do the whole pink thing then get a boy!!!

My sister was told at both her scans that she was having a girl, and all the way through she said she always felt like it was a boy, and when HE pooped out, he was definately a boy. From what I know, it is not possible at a 12 week scan to tell for sure if a boy or a girl, the genitals are only at a point where if examined outside the womb it could be told what they are, at that stage, on a scan a penis and and a clitoris still look pretty much the same.

I think the problem with a lot of scans is that if a penis cannot be made out, the sonographer sways more towards a girl, but bubs could just be in a bad position, or penis could be sort of tucked in between the legs. We were lukly with Jackson, we could see his bits plain as day at his 20 week scan, looked just like a little turtle sticking out between his legs, so I will be checking for turtles this time!!

The only way of being certain is to wait until the birth - both my husband and his younger brother were supposed to be girls but then again technology back then isnt what it is today. BUT it does still happen.

Min, You are very right about sex being near impossible to predict as early as 12-16 weeks. Even when babies are physically examined as early as 12-16 weeks it can be difficult to definitively tell what the sex is. When I had my Angel baby at 15 weeks the doctor was very sure it was a boy but still wouldn't be definite until the pathology came back. He was a boy but as I said these little ones are so teeny tiny...
Technology now is so very clever and with a highly experienced and trained ultrasonographer the 20week u/s is a pretty safe bet.
Telling a family the sex of their baby at an earlier u/s I believe would leave the family wide open to much confusion such as that that Bellabub is experiencing. It makes me cross to hear these things happening - I think these people need to know they have peoples emotions and dreams in their hands and they have a responsibility that comes with that. :hug:

I was told bub was a girl at 17w but at 19w (and every scan since!) bub has very definitely been a boy. I was chatting to my m/w yesterday and she was saying that she sees it all the time. Just recently she had a couple who were told bub was a girl the entire way through the PG, they even had a special plaque made before the birth with bub's name engraved on it and then out pops a baby boy...

*LOL* I've definitely heard of that happening. We found out at 20wks that Maddy was a girl (the sonographer pointed out the genetalia as bubs was showing it for all to see! *L*) and I was so scared that in following scans that we would be told otherwise. We had names picked out so when we found out baby was a girl, we started referring to her by name. Fortunately both 22wks & 32wks scans confirmed the gender; and then out popped a gorgeous little girl just like we had been promised!

(I can definitely see the argument for not finding out though - I think I would have been devastated had she turned out to be a boy. Not because I don't want a boy (we're hoping for our 'Kian' next time round), but because I had mentally prepared myself for a little daughter)

Ultrasound scans are only as good as the machine and the skills of the operator. One may have a wonderful Ob but they are not necessarily trained specifically in performing ultrasounds. Anyone can buy a machine and put it in their office.

Early ultrasounds are notorioulsy inaccurate to determine gender and yes even late ultrasounds get it wrong.

I've heard of it happening. We have been told we are having a girl but we both know we may have a boy. We really are happy either way. We have a boys name and it will just be a matter of getting more blue clothes. We have been keeping the room unisex so we don't have to change it all over for bubba 2 if it's a different gender. Part of me would like to be certain but part of me enjoys still not being 100% certain.

A family friend had bad bleeding from 11wks iunto her preg & weekly had scan/ultrasounds... It was a boy all the way through the pregnancy & every scan his bits were pointed out even at her 35ishwk scan when they realised baby was distressed with the bleeding & so they rushed them across for an Emergency C/Sect & out popped a girl!
The Dad said had he not been in the room & actually see bubs removed from her tummy, he would not believe it!

The whole house was set up for a son!!!

They have gone on to have 3 more girls!!!!

Bellabub,

As the other girls have said, the later scan is probably the more accurate. I know some sonographers say they can tell before 14wks but I have had it on good authority that that is rather early as both male and female genitals can appear practically the same at that stage. I have asked this question in the past and my Ob doing the scan said that anyone would be sticking their neck out if they answered one way or the other before about 14/15 wks.

Anyway, all the best and hope you have a happy, healthy pregnancy.
Hugs,
Debbie

This has made me think.

We both of my last babies, I was so sure of the sex I had sewed all of their clothes, bought all pink or blue things....for a second I didn't consider that my 'instinct' was wrong. I was right in both places.

This time around, I got such a strong feeling it was a girl, I had bought a few second hand pink blankets, me and DP had settled on our girl's name but I hadn't gone as far to buy clothes yet. I told DP this was a girl for sure, I couldn't think of it any other way.

I got an emergency scan at 16 weeks, and the sonographer showed me the boy bit! You could have knocked me down with a feather!! This wasn't a 4d one, and was quite a young sonographer with an older machine..but she was 80% sure she said, but said there's really no missing that bit.

This has made me think if maybe that quite obvious 'boy bit' was the cord or the developing girl bit. I still feel like this is a girl, but in my head I'm thinking it's a boy.

I'm getting my morph scan in very early Jan, a 4d one at an experienced place (I think....Dr O'Callaghan, anyone heard of him?) so we will see if this is still a little boy then...I'll let you know Bellabub.

I'll definately be trusting the later scan more than the 16 week one if the sex turns out different.

Tara, I had my morphology scan at 18 weeks and the sonographer told me he was 80% sure we were having a .... When I saw my obstetrician she told us that at 80% odds she wouldn't recommend going out and buying anything gender specific. I was pretty annoyed in the beginning because I really wanted to know! But now I've warmed to the idea of a surprise!!!

HTH

MG

I apologize for my last post, I was very tired and had pg brain and rereading it now I've got all the wrong words in.

MG, I'm sorry I wasn't clear, I haven't bought anything since I got the 16 week scan and I'm waiting to see what the 20 week one says I'm getting done in Janurary before purchasing anything.

What I meant was that with my previous two babies, I bought gender specific things because I was convinced they were a boy and a girl and I did this before any scan showed me...lucky I was right, but looking back now it was a silly thing to do. I did a bit of that this time, but only a few pink blankets which don't really matter anyway. I've now learnt I can't rely on my instinct.

But no, on 80% we agreed not to be buying anything until we get the 20 week scan done and see what it says, who knows, we might not be any closer to knowing lol.

LOL Tara, I just meant to trust your gut instinct! Especially, if you were right both times previously! And considering 80% aren't great odds. I wasn't buying gender specific stuff either, I just really wanted to know!!! LOL. It will be interesting to see who is right though, you or the sonographer! I'm going to have to stalk you to make sure I don't miss it when the big day arrives!!!
On a side note, I don't feel like I'm having the gender the sonographer said either ;)

I had my 13 week scan and was told i was having a girl, (thats what my instincts were telling me) and then i went for my 18 week scan and i was told a Boy! I am having another scan in less than 2 weeks time so i will let you know if i am definately having a boy.

I know a few people that this has happened to! And my mum is friends with a midwife who said that they see it all the time, parents confused because they've just a delivered a boy and thought it was a girl or vice versa!

That's partly why I'm not finding out. Everyone thinks we're crazy for not knowing, but I just couldn't bear to go out and buy everything and then for it all to be wrong. I just don't trust them, the sonographers, or the machines LOL!

It is tempting to ask.......but I know I would then be questioning whether they were right or not!

With Indah we asked & the Sonographer said they could not see properly & there was no way of knowing for certain, but at a 60% guess it looked like a girl???

But added, 60% isnt really great odds, so dont hold me to it, it could be 60% a boy!! LOL, so we didnt actually know, although she is a girl...

I'd also be going with your most recent scan.
My OB told me Toby was a girl when he scanned me at 14 weeks. He looked again at 18 weeks and said he wasn't so sure, he could see something between baby's legs but wasn't sure if it was doodle or cord. Went for my 20 week scan at a specialist ultrasound clinic and they got much clearer pictures and we could finally see clearly enough to satisfy ourselves that we definitely had a boy.
Often the machines OB's use in their office aren't that great so that makes it even harder for them to tell.

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Ultrasound scans are only as good as the machine and the skills of the operator. One may have a wonderful Ob but they are not necessarily trained specifically in performing ultrasounds. Anyone can buy a machine and put it in their office.

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This is very true.

Flea,
What you have said is so true I believe.
Most obs rooms haven't got the wizz bang machines. The fetal med obs I worked is a leader in his field and he always gets annoyed with obs who tell women that they have a 60, 70, 80% chance of a particular sex. Simply becasue if you can't definitely see then you should say you don't know! As I said on physical examination it can still be difficult to ascertain sex prior to 18-20 weeks so to definitively or percentage wise give indication of sex is really going out on a limb.

It can lead to all sorts of ethical problems also which is what concerns me most of all.
It is still not unheard of for couples to terminate because the sex isn't what they want (YES it does happen) - these guys need to know the power of their words. Also, what of the mother that has an emergency c/s and awakes to be told her baby is a boy when she was told it was a girl? What confusion and emotions must that provoke?:eek:

Deb, as I said above the family friends wife woke up to meet her son & it was a daughter & her hubby saqw a girl removed from her stomach so he had to convince her it was true!!

I know of 2 couples from work that left the sonographer's in tears as they were not getting the gender they desperately hoped for... (made me upset as it is/was 1st babies for each couple)...

I have my next Ob appt on Jan 18th and I will be 25 weeks then. He has a small u's machine in his rooms (which he uses evry visit to check bub's growth and herat beat etc), so I will ask him to check the sex then. Do you think it will be accurate or should I ask for another formal scan at the imaging centre with a specialist sonographer?