Anyone else have to pay to know the sex of your baby?

[Poohbah]

Because at Shrewsbury hospital they won't tell you you have to arrange another scan and pay £70 to know.

no i havnt heard of them poohbah but thank you i will have a look at what there about

Qally FWIW I think (and I gather from on here) that you may well be hormonally miserable after the birth but for the vast majority of Mothers it won't be because the child wasn't the sex they wanted/expected it will be because of the hormones.
The endorphins (or whatever) kick in and the love/urge to protect/nuture whatever kicks in regardless in order to ensure survival of the human race

They don't check the gender just so they can say ya boo sucks we know what you're getting and we're not telling, they are trying to check genetalia have developed properly and your child isn't indeterminate sex, (I think if these things are dealt with early and the parents prepared surgery is much more successful [emotionally not just physically] I hasten to add it really is a think not a know

Although I do agree it is a bit off for them to do the scan whilst saying if you want to know you have to go next door and hand over £70.

I wonder where the money's going and whether the trust is getting it's full cut and who is doing the scans? Maybe write to the chief exec and ask why he is allowing private medicine running within the NHS? and can he let you know the financial details so you can check they're not profiteering off the back of the public purse or something?

He will probably reply it's all part of our beloved leaders choice agenda!

1dilemma, thanks for that, but it's a bit personal for me because my mother didn't bond with my brother for a long, long time from gender disappointment. That was how her acute PND manifested itself. (He also turned out to be on the autistic spectrum, which makes my kids at higher risk, and boys are a lot more likely to be affected, which probably have reinforced my own wish for a girl. AS kids are in my experience not easy.) She feels awful now, and they're very close indeed, but when she was ill (which was several years) she could be very unkind about how useless sons were, which has to have hurt my brother horribly. I'm over-compensating I'm sure, but I was worried when a strong, strong bias started with me too, and wanted to nip it in the bud if a boy was en route. I want my son to feel welcomed and secure from day dot.

Basically, I don't give a damn about clothes (I prefer blue anyway, on boys and girls!) but I do have other - I feel legitimate - reasons for wanting to know, and some of the comments here seemed to find that incomprehensible. I also feel that using personal, already available data as a money-spin is really unethical and rather obnoxious- not to mention that the WHO has expressed slight reservations about the advisability of repeated scans where not medically indicated, so WTF are a trust doing advocating 2 when 1 will do just fine?

Hi,

I'm living in Asia (Singapore) and 27 weeks with 1st DC. Yes, culturally a lot of people would prefer a boy first here and in China they aren't allowed to tell you because of the girls that are aborted. However, all of my colleagues and locals that I know think I'm completely mad for not wanting to find out what I'm having - apparently I won't be able to plan properly....

I do have to pay for all my scans so the situation is a little different to the NHS but surely it is a personal choice if you want to know then you should be able to find out if you don't then so be it. For me there aren't any real surprises left in life anymore so I'm glad to have one left.

Righto..How about a letter to the Director saying something like this...

Dear ...

I understand that during the routine antenatal scans that the sonographer will not disclose the sex of the baby if requested to by the mother and that an additional scan has to be purchased privately if the mother wishes to know the sex of their baby.

It is common practice in other hospitals to provide a disclaimer stating that the the sonographer may be wrong with regard to the sex and that if the sex can't be observed on the scan then additional scans will not be carried out just to determine the sex of the baby.

I think it is ethically and morally wrong to charge for additional antenatal scans to determine the sex of the baby in instances when the sonographer can clearly see the sex of the baby. That information should be provided free if the parents wish to know that information.

I have heard of instances where midwives have inadvertently advised the mother of the sex of the baby as it has been written down in the notes. Why should a stranger know the sex of womens baby within a womans body but the woman herself not be party to that information unless she pays.

The NHS should provide a fair and equitable service to all and at present your hospital is not doing so as I know of many women who wish to know the sex of their baby but cannot afford an extra scan.

Under The Freedom of Information Act can you please advise me of the revenue obtained from these additional private scans in the last financial year?

What do people think??

Go for it Poobah! Agree with Starlight on admin fee - but don't think it's much.

I would take out paragraph 4 I don't think it ads anything.

You could put in the ethics of those who do want to know
needing to have another scan when unnecessary scans are to be avoided (?google WHO and reference)

Are you sure the scans are conducted on NHS grounds during the working day? (could always phone to enquire about appointments to find out) could take out the bit about freedom of info act (can always use it if request is refused in next letter) they might just tell you for free.
Could ask can you tell me how much revenue is generated, reassure me that the NHS is making a profit from this which is reinvested for patient benefit at the point of care in services freely available to all ask to see costings proving that staffing, power and ground rent have been commercially charged.

I havn't written it properly but I think you need to probe more if you are asking for financial info need to know how much is generated what is done with it and does NHS get it's cut.

Qally, you see to my mind you do have good reason to find out the gender, but of course you shouldn't have to justify yourself to me so yet again mumsnet humbles me by making me realise that what seems so simple at first is not, sorry

I can't remember whether you are having a B or a G but I'm absolutely sure you will just be delighted/bowled over/head over heels for years to come
Good luck

Good points and will take on board what you have all said. I know the trust is in debt so would imagine they are trying anything to cut the debt. They are in debt because when Labour came to power they spent huge amounts of money on short term projects which failed to deliver effective outcomes, and of course mergers, restructures and lots of new letterheads later they are paying for it!!!

Hi Poohbah,

I gave birth at Shrewsbury Hospital just over 2 years ago with dd2. This policy of charging to find out sex of baby came in just a couple of months before I got pregnant. I didn't pay to know - thought it was too much and what a cheek. Definitely a money making scheme - midwives told me so.

Ah ha! I am not alone! Would you write to them too toodles?

Would it do any good now that dd2 is 2+? I'm also not in the UK anymore even though I was invited back to Shrewsbury by the midwife who attended me as she told me I was a pleasure to assist . That was nice to hear as I felt I had become a troublemaker to the Telford midwives holding on till 42+2 weeks. They didn't know what to do with me.

Well, actually I'm not pregnant (yet) and my boy is 2.5 but the reality is that this policy sort of plays on the fact that people are generally too busy, tired, worried that the hospital will think they are troublemakers to complain. Hope your are having fun abroad!