Finding out gender at 20 week scan ?

[JennyAnn]

Hello all - I had my 20 week scan today. Everything was ok with the baby which is great. I asked the man who scanned me if he knew the sex of the baby. He said yes. He asked us if we wanted to know what we were having and we said no. We already have 3 sons.

My dh thinks that because the guy KNEW then it MUST be a boy as it is harder to tell if it is a girl. The baby was moving all over the place - legs and arms flailing about. I think that with open legs the guy would have easily known at 20 weeks if it was a boy OR a girl. Do you think it could still be either and that dh is wrong? How sure can they be at 20 weeks (with a co-operative/moving baby) what sex the baby is?

[coppertop]

They can't always be absolutely certain tbh. I know that with our first baby we had to sign a form promising not to sue the hospital if we were told the wrong sex. They'd had a few cases of parents rushing out to buy blue/pink and then finding out that the sonographer had made a mistake.

[Twiglett]

they can still get it wrong at 20 weeks

the presence of 'something' is easier to detect than the 'absence' of something

but that said a skilled sonographer will be able to tell extremely quickly (but there's still a chance they might be wrong)

is that clear as mud???

[blueteddy]

I think a trained sonographer knows exactually what they are looking for!
With a girl they look for 3 lines & for a boy they look for the obvious!!!
They can still get it wrong, with either sex.

[bundle]

my consultant called the 3 lines thing a hamburger! so she was sure..and right.

[Hayls]

I found out at 20 weeks that it was a girl and they were right...

[happymerryberries]

I was told that dd was 'probably' a girl.

I knew that ds was a boy from an amnio, but later saw his bits on a scan....I'd have had to have been blind to miss them!

[janeybops]

didn't know gender before birth but when I went for a scan at 37 weeks they wouldn't show me the picture - must have been obviously a boy !!!!

[eidsvold]

first time with dd1 - we knew - she presented in a perfect position for the obstetrician to see - very detailed scan at Harris birthright trust. With dd2 - she was very shy and did not let the sonographer see anything at both the 20 week and the 36 week scan.

[moondog]

I didn't want to know, but had it in Turkey, and understood enough Turkish to get that they were referring to a 'he' so then had to ask the interpreter who came with us to ask him what the sex was so that dh could be in on it (he doesn't speak any Turkish, and I didn't want to be the only one knowing this.)

Still feel irritated....

[moschops]

i have been adamant that i do not want to know the sex, and now dp (who has always agreed with me) has started saying how nice it would be to find out. so now i'm trying to decide whether i should or not...............

[Kelly1978]

I think they are usually pretty accurate. They got my first two right, and they've told me at the 20wk scan I'm expecting two boys this time, and recent scans have confirmed that.
If the baby is co-operative they seem to be able to tell instantly. It was only with my second they weren't sure until they saw him do a little wee, and his little winkie flew up!

[Miaou]

Dh and I didn't want to know with this db or either of our previous children - good job because both hospitals where I have had scans refuse to tell people! If you want to know in the highlands I guess you have to pay for a private scan!

[dinosaur]

I don't know to be honest, but with my DS3 I was pretty sure he was a boy because I was pretty sure I saw a willy! DH said all the way throught the rest of the pregnancy that he was sure that was nonsense and that it was bound to be a girl, but lo and behold I was right!

[Sallie]

I am going to find out - hopefully before 20 weeks (am 14 weeks now). DH is a radiologist so we can have the odd sneaky scan to see if we can tell whether its a girl or boy (no 3). DS is adamant he wants a sister so would be good to know asap in case we have to prepare him for having a brother.

[aloha]

It's just as easy for a good scanner to see if your baby is a girl as it is to see boy bits, so JennyAnn, your dh is wrong and you could easily be having a girl. I had three scanners look at my 20 week scan and all glanced at the screen for a minute and went, 'oh, yes, a girl' in a very matter of fact tone. We did want to know btw!

[Lua]

My DH, who is not a trained scanner could tell first DD was a girl without hesitation. He also immediatly saw that we are having a boy this time around. Me on the other hand, was - What, isn't this his nose....

Anyway, I skilled technician would be able to tell both geneder equally well IMO!

[daisy1999]

we asked if it was easier to tell if it was a boy and our scanner said she found it easier to tell if it was a girl. apparantly they look for 3 lines!