Is it easier to tell the sex of a baby if you go private...(BERKSHIRE INDEPENDENT SCANNING)

[HelenCS]

Hello,

Im having a private scan on tuesday at Berkshire Independent Scanning, by my original dates il be 15+3 but a scan at 10+4 said the baby was measuring about 11+1 so on tuesday il possibly be just over 16 weeks.

Its booked in for 7pm and ive been told that its probably easier to get a good look in the evening once everything is more relaxed, but has anyone else found out the sex of their baby at 16 weeks? the cost is £130 and for that i get a half hour appointment, my scan on dvd and they also said i would be able to get a 3d picture. If they did a 3d pic will it be easier to tell the sex of the baby?

Also do private scanning places have better equipment??

They will certainly be able to tell the sex if the baby is cooperating - my doctor told me at 12w (hoping to have it confirmed tomorrow at 17w). He is an NHS consultant OB but I am seeing him privately. (Personally I prefer hospital surroundings for medical care to piped music and Greek statues but that's personal choice). Why do people still insist you cannot tell the sex until 20 weeks? Please see here for a good description of what is visible and when including links to some studies testing for the earliest they could determine fetal gender - you will see the results are very accurate from 12w onward. Of course they can always make mistakes though even at 20w and later - but at 16w you'll be fine. As for the equipment, depends where you go - and any private clinic won't necessarily be better than a decent hospital, but as usual it's luck of the draw.

Thanks splodges mum!!

Yes i may see you there as il probably arrive way to early as will be too excited!!!

I no i dont have to explain my reasons for wanting to no but i dont like the fact that i seem to be judged by alot of mums on here for it!!

The scans to check my baby is ok, doesnt every first time mum want to no what their baby looks like at different stages?? because i no i do. And i think being made to wait 10 weeks between scans on the NHS doesnt exactly put my mind at ease as to wether the baby is ok having suffered a mc last year.

the 'sexing' question was just asked because ive been told they can find out from 16 weeks if your baby is cooperative. I wont be disappointed if i dont find out, i just want to no its ok!

HelenCS one of my friends was told she was having a boy when she was 16 weeks pregnant and he was a boy, it was an NHS scan. I was told baby was a girl at 20 weeks and a boy at 30 weeks so even at the later stages there can be mistakes!!!

and thankyou slinkemalinki, at least your not judging me for wanting to find out if i can

"No difference in private or nhs scans as the sonographers are all traiend to the same standard.

Will be impossible at 16weeks to determine gender"

i'm sorry but, ime, that's boilleaux

i'm a scanning veteran

was told when pg with ds that pregnancy not viable (nhs) and two hours later fetal pole and heartbeat detected by top harley street chap

this just one example of differing info

i was scanned by berks ind scanning with ds2

yer main man there (dagnammit have forgotten his name) has been at the forefront of antenatal scanning for many years

oh yes, and the equipment varies massively

unsurprisingly, many nhs machines are old. private clinics haev brand new whizzy ones

I was told the sex at 13 weeks (nuchal scan)

Good luck Helen hope you really enjoy your scan

Wish I'd gone private after our horrible 22 week scan experience at the hands of the NHS. I know they are overworked and underpaid - but still, our scanner had such a chip on her shoulder - she was snappy all the time, threatened to stop the scan and give me another date because I moved slightly (to get a look at babies face) while she was scanning me and she lost her place.....seriously!

We really wanted to know the sex as well so that we could tell our DD and get her excited about it - so after we knew baby was thankfully ok, I sheepishly enquired about what the sex was and she looked at me like I was Kerry Katona!

We didn't find out as she said it was ambiguous, but I'm not sure I believe her - I think she was just a total bitch!

this is on my 'threads I'm on' so I've read it this morning

I'm really sorry .. I have no idea at all what I was being scathing about the other day .. I really don't ... I would proffer the excuse that I was quite ill all weekend but that's poor

so instead humble apologies

oh and I found out the sex of both of mine by the way

again sorry Helen .. enjoy your scan

Lol @ Twiglett - see what you did!

Catsypug, that's awful! When I went to the EPU with bleeding when I was having my MC, the sonographer snapped at me for having my mobile on! This was before she told me my baby was dead, but still...she knew why I was there FFS! I think she felt a bit bad when it wasn't a good result but then she was a total muppet - trying to get me to wipe off the gel before having a hug when I was in floods of tears - Yeah right, 'Oh no, my baby is dead but I better make sure I don't get scanning gel on my skirt'. Dumbass.

while i think thats true that the person is trained to do the scannning equally there is a world of difference you get with the person doing it
my nhs scan lady was very informative despite me asking question
i had a private scan also and the care was great she took the time and considered my feelings to answer my questions
we had a right to know the sex of our baby as we carry a genetic gene in boys which can be life threatening,sadly my unborn baby has this gene but im still giving him a chance
i know the worry of scans and i am now scanned every 2 weeks
they looked for the sex of my baby as well as the normal 20 weeks scan on the nhs
now only consultant scans me
ive also had 2 echo heart scans done on baby
i know scans have not been understood or the danger related to them properly presented but just to say ive had this with a previous baby and he was scanned every week and it didnt do him any harm,in fact it saved his life,guess we have to weigh up the risks ourselves
people say why do you want yo know for?
me to mentally prepare myself thats was all and to know for sure what i was dealing with
also some women worry if they have had mc and it puts there minds at rest being able to bond with the baby more easily
we all have our different reasons i guess

also just to say at my 22 weeks scan baby was kinda layin upside down with his legs open
well you could clearly see he was a boy no mistaking it whatsoever
also hatrick has her baby scan on here its very clear and you can see its a boy to
have a look give you a clue to maybe what you see on the day

Just thought I'd come back and update and say my OB was in no doubt mine's a boy at 17 weeks - he was adamant at 12 weeks as well. So I am sure they will tell you if you ask - good luck

Pretty sure the consultant there is Mark Salenger?? Although think you have to pay more to see him!? I have seen him and been scanned by him on many occassions on the NHS as he works at the Royal Berks in Reading! He is very good, but I didn't appreciate his 'bedside manner' as both my baby and I were very ill and he just kept saying things like 'the situation is not yet dire' - guess depends on the situation though! sadly we lost our little girl at 26 weeks last July due to severe reapid-onset pre-eclampsia.

Am now 30 weeks pregnant and getting fantastic care at the Royal Berks and have to say my new consultant Jill Ablett is fantastic and tells me exactly what is what and what she thinks! - as for 16 weeks I think my consultant picked up the sex about that this time and it has been confirmed on 6 more scans since then (still not going to believe it until she is here though!).

Good luck with the scan and look forward to hearing the results!

thankyou all for your help!!

Yes i think were paying like, and extra £30 to see him so im hoping he can tell me everything i want to no!!

I will let you no (hopefully) what it is in the next 24 hours(ish!!!!)

Hi Helen, that's always the danger of posting on open forums like this - some people can be very judgmental and also like to scare people!

After the agony we have been through to achieve this pregnancy (3 IVFs, 1st 2 pregnancies lost) we had a scan every week from 6 weeks to 13 weeks, another scan at 20 weeks and another at 22. I know some people think there is a risk, but my fertility consultant is immensely experienced in both fertility (where routine scans are common place) and miscarriage (again routine scans common place for obvious reasons) and reassured us that there has been no evidence that scans do any harm. For the peace of mind it gave my husband and I it was so worth it - and stress hormones are not supposed to be good for your baby either, so you're damned either way!

Anyway, see you tomorrow and hope you enjoy the experience of seeing your little one.

Splodgesmum - if you meant me then I certainly didn't mean to scare anyone and would be upset that anyone might think that. I would however like people to be informed of possible consequences of scans and I think that most of the time they're not.

Its all very well saying that a scan will give someone piece of mind, etc - I'm sure it does for that day. But I always think that a scan shows everything is ok at that moment - it doesn't mean things won't be ok the next day. So I guess I don't really see the point of them, apart from the routine scans unless there is a specific problem. The reason the NHS don't offer another scan until 19 or 20 weeks is because the things they check for such as heart chambers, etc aren't formed prior to that in enough detail to see in a scan.

Infact as a student I was always told to book women for their anomoly scan at closer to 20 weeks rather than 19 weeks. And if the women were obese to make it closer to 21 weeks.

The reason I said that I didn't believe gender could be determined at 16weeks is because thats what I've always been told and also I've seen a 16week gestation fetus in the flesh and couldn't tell what gestation it was, so I have no idea how they could on a scan.

Helen, did you find out the sex?

Our little boy was perfect in terms of growth and development - bang on average weight too which was a relief cos I'd begun to convince myself he was huge!

No doubt about the sex as he was lying legs wide open and no sign of modesty this time at all (last time he kept his legs crossed or hands between his legs most of the time so sonographer only got a brief glimpse of his bits!).

However, his hands remained firmly in front of his face, or his face was buried in the placenta so didn't see much there at all - back in a couple of weeks!

Look forward to hearing about your experience.

sorry i havent written on my own thread sooner...

changed the date of the scan to last thursday so baby would have been a bit more developed and i must say it was worth every penny going there.

The service and atmosphere was so much more relaxed and comfortable compared to the hospital and Mark Selinger gave me the best scan i could have hoped for. He really put the effort in to make it as enjoyable as possible and for my £105 i got my 15 minute scan, 5 printed out pictures ( 1 was 3d ) the whole scan recorded on DVD, all its measurements taken and he sexed the baby even tho it was being awkward and turns out i am having a little girl

So overall even tho i had a few negative comments i wouldnt change having it for the world!!