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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

20 week scan gender question - how long did it take sonographer to confirm?

20 replies

Florenceatemycake · 01/09/2023 10:17

I had my anatomy scan today and all was good thankfully. I don't want to know the sex of the baby because I don't have a strong preference (although I have an inkling it's a boy!)

When the sonographer told us to look away, she literally looked for max 20 seconds and then said, "All done."

So my question is - is it quicker to spot a boy than a girl? I would've thought it was because of the obvious boy bits but what is everyone's experience?

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Tjjd2023 · 01/09/2023 10:19

She seemed too know very quickly with my boy so you may be right, but then i haven't had a girl scan to compare!

Tlolljs · 01/09/2023 10:20

Thought you didn’t want to know!

HippeePrincess · 01/09/2023 10:22

The thing is they aren’t looking for the sex they’re looking at the other things it’s just you’d potentially be able to tell while they’re looking in that area.

Original poster

Florenceatemycake · 01/09/2023 10:23

Tlolljs · 01/09/2023 10:20

Thought you didn’t want to know!

I don't but I can't help trying to guess 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:

HamishTheCamel · 01/09/2023 10:24

They're not trying to spot the sex (unless you want to know) so it doesn't mean anything either way.

hdbs17 · 01/09/2023 10:25

Chances are, they already noticed when they were checking the anatomy so they just did another quick check to confirm what they saw and that's all it took.

tb4122 · 01/09/2023 10:25

She would need you to look away whilst measuring the femurs in case you saw anything (we could see our boy was a boy when his legs were being measured). So the length of time was probably just how long it took to do those measurement, rather than to check the sex of the baby. I don't think the sex of the baby is part of the anatomy scan from a medical point of view, it's not recorded in notes or anything.

But a boy is more obvious on a scan. We were told (well, we could see) that we were having a boy but my colleague was told "I'm fairly sure you're having a girl" because boy bits were not seen. So she always felt a bit unsure until baby was born.

Original poster

Florenceatemycake · 01/09/2023 10:25

HamishTheCamel · 01/09/2023 10:24

They're not trying to spot the sex (unless you want to know) so it doesn't mean anything either way.

At that point she was specifically looking at genitalia (was what she said anyway)

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Original poster

Florenceatemycake · 01/09/2023 11:48

Thanks for everyone's responses!

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Tina8800 · 01/09/2023 12:41

Depends on the position of the baby.
They found out I was having a girl in about 5 seconds. If it's the right position, it is very obvious - either way.

PickledScrump · 01/09/2023 14:07

They don’t check the genitals during a 20 week scan, they only look if you ask to know. They do measure the femurs though which is done via a potty shot view which is why they ask you to look away. Doesn’t take long to do.

marmb87 · 02/09/2023 11:42

Took longer with my girl as she was lying funny. But with my boy, his bits were waving around for everyone to see!

OverTheCountryClub · 02/09/2023 12:43

I don't think so....I know with ds2 it took ages to coax him to the correct position and even then the sonogorapher thought he was a girl! He's definitely a boy - he's 4 now! - but they can obviously make it quite tricky to see! I've never trusted any scans since 😆

Plumful · 02/09/2023 12:46

I think you’re massively overthinking this

PuttingDownRoots · 02/09/2023 12:49

They weren't able to tell DD2 was a girl at her 20 week scan (but said more likely to be girl but wouldn't confirm either way) due to position and movement. If the position is just right they can likely see quickly.

Mrburnshound · 02/09/2023 13:15

I think both mine were obvious. ds the sonographer was surprised i couldnt tell it was a boy and DD when i had my cervix checked early in pregnancy i was told the dr could see the sex (which i told them i didnt want to know)

PurpleStar22 · 02/09/2023 14:03

We got told at 20 weeks that we were having a girl. At 36 weeks they told us our girl had grown a scrotum. DS is now 11. They don’t always get it right anyway

88Pandora88 · 02/09/2023 14:39

I have 2 girls. With my eldest, they weren't sure as she was curled up in a ball, took a while and even then they weren't sure, we had extra scans later on where they confirmed girl but at 20 week it could have gone either way.
With second child, there was no doubting it, she was led showing all off to the world 😂 so I don't think there's an accurate timing to say if it's a boy or girl, just depends how they're led and if they're flashing!

SmellyNelliey · 02/09/2023 15:12

With my first I was told boy and gave birth to a girl,my other 2 girls we could tell but took some time and my little boy well all was on show there was no way of hiding the gender.

Abbie22222 · 02/09/2023 21:11

I don't think they specifically look at genitalia unless you ask for gender? With my daughter they were 'pretty sure' she was a girl and they spent ages explaining what they thought they were seeing - I wouldn't have had a clue. Then with my son it was literally his balls filling the screen, no explanation required 😂

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