Does a post mortem tell you the sex of the baby?

[avocadoincident]

Sadly we found out at our 20 week scan that there was no heart beat.

The baby has been delivered and will go for a post mortem.

We could not tell if the baby was a boy or girl when spent time with it afterwards.

The nurses do not know if the sex will be identified during the most mortem or not.

Does anyone know if we will ever find out?

[starfishcoffee]

I've no answer but I couldn't read and run.
I'm sorry for your loss.

[InkyFANGERSInkyFace]

I don't know.

But when I lost my first, I decided he was a boy and named him a boy's name. The other two I lost, I gave them unisex names.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I don't know who you would need to contact to find out more from.

[ElphiasDoge]

I’m so sad to hear about your beautiful baby. That’s heartbreakingly sad and painful.

I think they would do genetic testing if it is not clear from the genitalia. They do tests guided by what they find.

This is quite technical as it’s written for pathologists but it goes through what they look for if it’s useful:

www.rcpath.org/asset/B20EA503-7799-433C-99160653762F896C/

[mumsiedarlingrevolta]

Am sorry for your loss.

Wanted to help-Google seemed to say it does-I had a look a couple of relevant websites-here is one example-

your info on page 7

www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Late-Miscarriage-May-2016.pdf

[KJayne]

I'm so so sorry for your loss.

I lost a baby at 16 weeks and yes, they did tell us the sex once the post mortem had been completed. Xx

[hairyheadphones]

Sorry for your loss

I had a post mortem after a m/c at 16 weeks and they confirmed the sex of the baby.

[EssentialHummus]

Nothing helpful to add but very sorry for your loss and hope the post mortem finds the answers you’re looking for.

[Muddledfeelings]

I'm so sorry OP

I'm not 100% sure but perhaps reach out to the hospital? Do you have details for a bereavement midwife for example? I'm sure they'd try to find out for you.

[ElphiasDoge]

www.sands.org.uk/sites/default/files/SANDS-DECIDING-ABOUT-A-PM.pdf

This is a little more user friendly and seems to suggest that they do check.

[MrsHardbroom]

Hi, I sometimes attend fetal pathology meetings and yes, the baby's chromosomes are usually checked and that will tell you the sex. So sorry for your loss

[Soontobe60]

So sorry you've had this happen. My sister had a termination at 14 weeks as the baby was not expected to survive the pregnancy. The PM showed he had Edwards syndrome, and was a boy.

[jomaIone]

My friend lost her baby with DS at 20 weeks. She was told her sex after the PM. So sorry for your loss.

[avocadoincident]

Thank you everyone that is reassuring to know. Couldn't bear not knowing

[z4zie]

Sorry for you loss

[z4zie]

Your*

[DramaAlpaca]

I've no advice, but I'm very sorry for your loss & I hope you get the answers you need

[DeadButDelicious]

I am so sorry for your loss.

We lost a baby at 20 weeks and the post mortem did tell us the sex.

She will always be our first daughter.

All my love to you.

[avocadoincident]

Thank you to everyone here for replying. Mumsnet can be a wonderful resource.

I signed the consent forms today and I wondered 2 things:

How long did people generally wait for the report? I've been warned it could be 3 months.

Also, we are having a chromosomal test and also a full post mortem. Did all your results come back in one go or separately. I just want to know the sex so badly so we can name the baby before having it cremated. I don't really want to wait three months to have closure with the ceremony.

[ferntwist]

So sorry for your loss. The chromosomal testing (katyotype) will 100% tell you the sex.

[DustyMaiden]

I found out the sex from a previous scan, although I didn’t wish to know at the time they looked back for me.