They Can't Be Wrong Nowdays, Can They?(baby's Gender)

Updated on September 22, 2011
L.C. asks from Holly Springs, NC
30 answers

A friend is convinced that she is having a boy, even though she was told it's a girl(had an u/s). She is very in tune with her body, does home birth and everything. Friends want to do a baby shower since her other kids are boys. Can they get it wrong nowdays with all the technology?10-20 years ago maybe, but nowdays? I do not know anybody personally, so just wondering if it still happens:)tia

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

3 moms found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I think with such good techonology these days, they are right almost all of the time. The ultrasound result would convince me much more than a person who just has a feeling because she in tune with her body.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

I've heard so many stories of "wrongness" so EVERY TIME we saw my doctor I kept asking "HE'S STILL A BOY...RIGHT?"

He was but I was 'slightly' prepared--JUST IN CASE.

2 moms found this helpful

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

they can get it wrong but just because she's in tune with her body doesnt mean she knows what shes having! i hope shes not in denial & setting herself up for disappointment when the baby arrives...

4 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

no they can be wrong. Ovaries can be mistaken for testies if they can't see the labiya.

2 moms found this helpful
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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

The only 100% test is an amnio - ultrasounds are much more accurate, but still not 100% cause it depends on the angle, etc.

2 moms found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Boston on

that's why you buy green and yellow till you know for sure, or if you have some blue stuff have a coordinating blue headband :)

2 moms found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Dallas on

My husband's friend just found out their sonogram was wrong last week. Oops!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.M.

answers from Nashville on

Like sonomom 2 said, ultrasounds are only as accurate as the person reading them. That not only goes for gender, but weight, size, and amount of amniotic fluid as well. I agree w/ the gender-neutral baby shower. You can always get pink/blue stuff after the baby's born.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Chicago on

Tell her to get a 3D ultrasound. May not be available by a doctor. I had it done in a strip mall by an ultrasound technician.

1 mom found this helpful

T.C.

answers from Dallas on

Yes, it can be wrong, but odds are it's not. I'd go off of the ultrasound or wait until the baby is born to have the shower:-)

1 mom found this helpful

R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

The only way to be 100% percent certain is to have an amnio and fluid drawn. Sometimes something won't show up in the ultrasound ; )

1 mom found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Houston on

girls are more easily mistaken than boys, but it depends on the quality of the ultrasound and the tech or doctor.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Seattle on

I know a woman who has 5 kids. 4 boys and now a girl. According to the doctor 2 of those boys were supposed to be girls too.

And when she actually was pregnant with her girl, she said she wouldnt believe it until that baby was born!

Mistakes happen, nothing is fool proof.

1 mom found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Ultrasounds are just as inaccurate as they were 20 years ago. It is black and white and those little buggers hide things. Girls still become boys but boys tend not to become girls.

Why don't you just throw her a party celebrating her daughter after she is born if that is what it turns out to be.

1 mom found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Did you watch Anderson Cooper today? There is a new blood test you can mail in and they can tell you 99% the correct sex.. as early as 6 weeks.

http://www.genednatest.com/early-gender-test.html

1 mom found this helpful
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C.J.

answers from Lancaster on

Well, I've opted to be surprised with all six of mine (and am doing so for the twins I'm pregnant with), but my brother and his wife were expecting a girl....He's a lovely little gem named Christopher. ;)

1 mom found this helpful
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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Our friends were told because of an ultrasound to expect a girl.

At birth, out came a boy.

Only amniocentesis can give you certainty of the gender.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.L.

answers from Lexington on

I personally know 3 people for whom u/s was wrong (even though the MD expressed complete confidence) . And I know people for who it was wrong both ways (told it was a boy, but really a girl AND told it was a girl but really a boy). Fingers, shadows, cord in the wrong place, weird angles, these can all distord the image and make genitals appear different that they are. Statistically speaking, u/s is only 80% accurate for gender determinaton. That is a pretty large margin of error.

But I agree, baby showers can be gender neutral.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

An ultrasound can be wrong. Or inconclusive.
Determining the sex of an unborn baby can be detected through ultrasound (routine or diagnostic), or genetic testing (Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis).

1 mom found this helpful
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R.R.

answers from Dallas on

My cousin has a 6 month old boy that was a girl according to US. Possible, but not as common nowadays!

1 mom found this helpful
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K.U.

answers from Detroit on

It can happen with ultrasounds, depending on the circumstances - it happened to a friend of mine, who thought she was having a girl and ended up having a boy. Sometimes what they think they see is not what is really there. Images can be open to misinterpretation. Amniocentesis is much more accurate.

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K.H.

answers from Huntington on

A doctor at my church was told by an ultrasound that her baby was going to be a boy, but it ended up being a girl! Yes, it can happen!

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J.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

IT CAN HAPPEN! I had a mom/toddler class with a woman, who had been told she was having a second boy. She hadn't even considered that it could be a girl, because when they say boy, they usually see something pretty obvious ;) Well - her husband came to the class with the older sibling after baby, and we all said - "what's his name" and he said "Amy". :) It was a girl afterall.

J.

L.M.

answers from Dover on

They can get it wrong if it isn't obvious but they are most likely going to get it wrong if they just guess. They aren't supposed to tell you unless they are 100% sure.

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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

A friend of mine has a one-year old boy. The 20 week ultrasound said girl, but 32 weeks clearly showed a boy. So, yep, even nowadays it's possible to get it wrong. It's usually being told a girl that can be a mistake.

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E.M.

answers from Louisville on

oh ya they can be wrong! you are going to have to let everyone know what she has!! this could be fun when is she due? i knew someone who was expecting and found out 2 weeks before she delievered she was having twins!! imagine the shock she had, and yes she had had ultra sounds

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

I believe the only way to know with 100% certainty is to have amnio and chromosonal testing.

The other thing I know is that there is a 50/50 chance it will be a boy OR a girl.

I worked in the OB department at a hospital and some doctors are becoming reticent about even venturing a guess because they don't want the liability for being wrong.

Baby showers don't have to be gender specific.

Just my opinion.

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B.E.

answers from New York on

I was initially told mine was going to be a girl based on the CVS test.

Then I was told there was a possibility that the CVS test was wrong and that they may have tested MY tissue rather than the baby's.

Then I was told that I was going to have to have an amnio even though I had already had the CVS, since there was a possibility it had been done incorrectly.

Sooooo, went in for the amnio and what popped up on the ultrasound monitor? Boy all the way.

Yes, they can still mess it up.

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D.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

I asked the tech how sure they were. I have heard that it is more likely to be told it's a girl and end up a boy than to go the other way. I think because that little thing can be hiding but if they can see it, it's a pretty sure thing :)

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