12 week scan sex determination disappointment

[Chippya]

This week I had my 12 week dating scan at the Harris Birthright Centre in Denmark Hill,London. I was 12+1 at time of scan.

Unfortunately the sonographer let slip the sex of my baby and I was a little disappointed. Mainly because my husband and I did not want to know the sex and I was under the impression you found this out at 20 weeks and not 12. When I pushed her she said she was 90% sure.

My question is around accuracy. I found this study undertaken at the Harris Birthright Centre from 1999 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1046/j.1469-0705.1999.13050305.x/asset/819_ftp.pdf?v=1&t=hy43fmag&s=1ffccf80f8a7844a0a03d49fea3fd22ea9b22880
Unfortunately it doesn't hyperlink but Google would bring it up.

The study does suggest that they are 90% sure based on the 'angle of the dangle' theory.

Has anyone been told the sex at Harris Birthright at 12 weeks to later find they were wrong and had a baby of the other sex?

My mistake it did hyperlink - the marvels of technology astounds me often!

You sound more like you're disappointed with the sex itself.

You do seem to be hoping they're wrong.

The sonography should not have told you the gender without your consent. There is a school of thought that 'the angle of the dangle' is very accurate. I was very interested with my second DC and accurately predicted the sex of DC2 and 3. I have probably accurately predicted 25 (?) sexes of friends and family babies since.

I'm no expert just find it interesting. 50 years ago I would have been the mad old bat swinging a wedding ring over the pg belly

Batmansbuttocks thanks that was really useful - in fact when I was little I recall my Mum swinging my Aunties wedding ring over her tummy!

Sorry you found out...why don't you post a pic of your 12 week scan and we can have a look? They could be wrong...They could be right...you won't actually be sure until you meet them! Fwiw here is my 12 week scan and I have no clue but wish I did!

They can only really guess at that point. We wanted to know and our doctor who works there also said she could only be 70% sure at that point. Turns out she was right, but there was still a 50/50 chance she was right either way anyway. Sorry to hear you sound disappointed by their prediction. But they'll only know for sure at 16 weeks if there's a clear view.

I gave birth at kings college, this didn't happen to me.

Are you having a boy?

I was told the sex of all my dcs at 12 weeks. All correct.

I was pretty sure mine was a girl at twelve weeks. Confirmed twice since. Doctor friends have spotted their girls at twelve week scans too.

I've had a number of very expert sonographers all of whom say it really is unreliable at 12 weeks. They basically said "until the gonads descend or the clitoris shrinks and labia grow, you cannot be sure" - from what I understand these things happen just before the 3rd trimester!!

I also have a friend who went to a Harley St gender scan at 16 weeks and they got it wrong.

We double checked ours at out (medical) 28 week scan. A girl, but I wasn't buying any pink stuff or blue until I got a late confirmation.

Did you ask for them not to tell gender? Do complain if they didn't listen to you, that could be most upsetting. Especially as it is a private clinic, you paid for the privilege.

All of mine between 12 and 16 weeks all correct

Are you disappointed with the gender? That's how your post reads.

I don't read it as gender disappointment, I would've been disappointed to have been told at 12 weeks no matter the gender! You don't expect to be told at 12 weeks so it wouldn't have entered my head to ask them not to mention it (as we did for the 20 week scan).
There's a paper from the fetal medicine centre which someone on here linked to, about the nub theory and their sonographers were 50/50 in correctly identifying sex during the 12th week (so from 11w0 to 11w6), more successful during the next week (70% if my memory serves me correctly) and 100% once mum was 13w0 or later. Also the paper said they took freeze frames of the sonogram and inspected them fairly closely- they didn't do it 'on the fly' so to speak. So based on that, I would say at 12w1, if your sonographer just used the moving ultrasound, 90% is probably an overestimation of accuracy.

Moggle thank you. It was not gender disappointment but more disappointed that it was no longer going to be a surprise. She didn't do any freeze frame measurements and to be honest I had no idea what she could see anyway. My baby seems to be in perfectly good health so I am very elated and my husband and I have decided not to ask at the 20 week scan anyway so you never know we may still be surprised yet! Thanks to everyone who has posted

I predicted a girl at the 12 week scan (based on nub theory), this was confirmed at the 20 week scan. But I still won't believe it until she's out! I've just heard too many stories where the prediction has been incorrect.