anyone know why some hospitals won't tell you the sex?

[joanna1990marie]

My hospital was fine with telling me but I've been reading posts where people have been refused? It only took them a couple of minutes to check the sex of my lo so why?

I've always assumed it's because some people will abort for the wrong gender.

Concerned about being sued if they are wrong; concerned about sex selective terminations.

Lots of reasons I imagine. Can't always get it right and the potential repercussions of this, have a sonographer friend who's been intimidated by a male partner of a pregnant woman after not being able to tell, time constraints given that it's an anomaly scan and not a gender scan.

There's also a bit of a myth that people will terminate the wrong gender. At least I hope it's a myth and more a combination of the above factors.

I think it's partly in case people abort the baby if it's the "wrong" gender, and partly because they can't always tell 100% and don't want people complaining if they get it wrong.

A lot won't tell before 20 weeks now because they fear getting wrong and sued and also if they are in an area where high numbers will abort if the answer is not the one they want.

But in a lot of cases, they won't tell at all because they can't be 100% certain.

Jesus really! Can't believe someone would abort for THAT reason! I thought about the suing thing because everyone seems to be very American these days! But to terminate due to the sex is horrendous! I wouldn't tell people either then!

The wrong gender termination is unfortunately not a myth, at least not where I am.

My hospital told us the gender but also told us it is not 100% accurate and that we should take it as an educated guess only, not as fact.

And by I think it's a myth, I mean that the same friend who has been intimidated over a scan before and works in a hospital with a high number of women from an ethnic background who are 'supposed' to terminate due to the wrong sex, says that in her experience (about 15yrs) that not telling the sex is nothing to do with this in her hospital and never was. She said if it was that simple, they'd have a private gender scan at 16wks anyway and you wouldn't stop a behaviour she hasn't encountered anyway.

All of the above, but I've also known of domestic violence reasons too. i.e. the woman is abused more for not getting the gender 'right'.

It's a nasty ol' world sometimes

Thanks for responses, cleared things up, was just getting confused as to why some do and some don't.

It's not a myth sadly, certainly where I live now there was a documented rise in abortion rates post scan so sex is no longer given until after 20 weeks. It seems to be a concern where there are high numbers of particular ethnic groups, and it tends to affect later pregnancies more than first/second ones.

Ours won't tell you unless you cough up £50 for a specific gender scan. Totally mercenary!

Yes it's true that normally it only takes a minute or so to check the sex but sometimes it can take a lot longer and with some much pressure now on appointments, its easy to get behind. So you either get people complaining about appointments running late or that they haven't found out the sex! Rock and hard place at times! As there is no medical reason for giving the gender, some trusts have decided to make it policy not to, so that sonographers are free to concentrate on the medical aspect of the scan.
Personally, I would be happy for this to be the case nationwide rather than just in some trusts. With gender scans now readily available, I think something that has no medical purpose is best left to the private sector.

There isn't actually a problem with sex-selective abortion in the UK, regardless of what some newspapers would have you believe.

The Department of Health released a https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200527/Gender_birth_ratio_in_the_UK.pdf report a few days ago which found that birth ratios in the UK are 'well within normal boundaries'.

I find it odd - I had my first 2 children in Edinburgh and plainly couldn't be trusted to know the sex of my own child - I move a few miles up the road to Perth and suddenly I also achieved sufficient responsibility to be told the sex of the chid I am carrying. Odd.

Sorry, first time posting a link. The report's here

I know/have heard about the gender selection terminations but didn't realise people were suing because the sonograher got it wrong..... On what basis would that stand up in court... It's not a 100% so how could anyone sue?

A lot of talk about it being for reasons related to religious/cultural preference for male children. Though I've never understood why, if gender was so important to the parents that they'd abort if it was 'incorrect', that they wouldn't just get a private scan done anyway.

Our hospital went through a period of refusing to let you know the sex right around the time I was pregnant with DS. Whatever their reasons, the day it came to have our 20 week scan, they told us no problem. Maybe we didn't look the 'type' to abort our child if its gender didn't please us .

Somewhere between DS1 and DS2 ours decided to let you know the sex. TBH I preferred it when they didn't tell you.

A woman in my local hospital was told she the gender however when she gave birth they had been wrong. She totally rejected the child and some have said she had a complete breakdown. Think that one of the reasons why they won't tell you plus the added threat of litigation etc

Risk of being sued and risk of selective abortions, I should think. Different health boards have different policies though.

They don't do it in the Aberdeen or Inverness hospitals - both have signs up saying 'please do not ask the staff the sex of your baby - they will refuse'.

We didn't want to know :) Had a late scan at 38+4 days and definitely saw some bollocks though, had baby at 39 weeks!

What I find weird is that there aren't national guidelines on this. After all it is an anomaly scan not a gender scan, would make sense if everybody did, or everybody didn't.

Come on NICE...

Or SIGN - nothing at a national level in other parts of the UK either. Seems strange.

My mw said it was because the hospital was full to bursting, but isn't every hospital?? It is actually about gender selection.

We went to the next county, and had a private scan, and some 4d pictures done instead.