Can an ultrasound be mistaken about the sex of a child? Doctor's advice and comments

As soon as she sees the long-awaited two stripes, a woman begins to wonder whether she is expecting a boy or a girl. The expectant mother pays attention to her tastes, changes in appearance, dreams and other superstitions that allow her to interpret the gender of the baby.

However, the most informative method is ultrasound diagnostics. And although the study does not give a one hundred percent guarantee, an experienced specialist will most likely tell a pregnant woman who she will soon have.

How accurate is the ultrasound method for determining gender?

Ultrasound is the most reliable and safe way to determine the sex of the baby. However, its accuracy is 85-90%. Thus there is a possibility of error. To minimize it, it is worth undergoing the study in the second trimester of pregnancy. Ideal from 23 to 25 weeks. But even during the second screening, the doctor will most likely correctly determine the gender of the fetus.

To avoid mistakes, you should contact a good, professional specialist with extensive experience and positive reviews. It is equally important if the study takes place in a private clinic using the latest equipment and modern 3D and 4D diagnostic technologies.

The need for an ultrasound scan

Many parents strive to find out the gender of their baby even before he is born. Some couples are driven by a simple interest: “Who should we expect, a boy or a girl?” Others need examination information in order to ensure the health of the unborn baby.

Ultrasound is necessary to determine the presence/absence of diseases in the fetus that are usually transmitted along with sex chromosomes. For doctors, ultrasound provides an opportunity to diagnose possible hereditary diseases (there are about 100 of them). The peculiarity of such diseases is the fact that it manifests itself only in boys. Due to discovered mutations due to chromosomal abnormalities, statistics record about 50% of unplanned abortions. It also results in 7% of stillbirths.

Thanks to ultrasound, a twin pregnancy is determined. When carrying twins, the difficulty in establishing the gender of the babies increases. They are very cramped in the womb, so they hide (involuntarily) their genitals more carefully than single fetuses.

Severe malformations in the development of the fetus are identified precisely through this examination.

The main reasons why ultrasound can be wrong:

The reasons for obtaining incorrect results when using ultrasound diagnostics may be as follows.

- short gestation period

The first ultrasound is prescribed for a pregnant woman between 11 and 14 weeks. The purpose of the study is not to determine gender, but to assess the correct formation of the baby’s organs and systems, as well as to exclude malformations.

If the woman really insists, the doctor can tell the sex of the child. However, it should be understood that the probability of a correct result is about 50%. The fact is that at the 11th obstetric week, the genitals of boys and girls look almost the same and are genital tubercles. At 13 weeks, the differences become more significant, which allows the doctor to make a conclusion about gender. To do this, evaluate the angle that the genital tubercle creates to the baby's back. If it turns out to be more than or equal to 30 degrees, then it will be a boy. If less than 30 degrees, then a girl will be born.

When determining gender, the position of the baby, the amount of amniotic fluid, the thickness of the abdominal wall, etc. play a role. Therefore, conclusions over such a short period of time are still unreliable, and many experts prefer not to even voice them.

- late date

The third ultrasound is performed from 30 to 34 weeks. It would seem that the baby has already formed, his genitals should be clearly visible, and determining the gender at this stage will not be difficult. However, this is not true. By this period, the baby has already grown so much that it becomes increasingly difficult for him to turn over, he is squeezed inside the uterine cavity. As a rule, he takes such a comfortable position for himself and tucks his legs so that the doctor cannot discern his gender.

— ultrasound equipment

Any technology quickly becomes outdated. This applies not only to modern devices, but also to ultrasound equipment. However, in practice such a device lasts a long time. It can be used in government medical institutions for more than 20 years. However, when working with such a device, the doctor may make mistakes.

Although many medical institutions are equipped with modern technology, district hospitals still have outdated units. In private clinics there is no such problem, but you can only use the services of its specialists for a fee.

- ultrasound specialist error

The gender is determined not by the device, but by the ultrasound doctor. The accuracy of the result may depend on his experience and professionalism. As a rule, young professionals are more likely to make mistakes. However, even a qualified doctor who sees patients all the time can be let down by fatigue, haste or inattention.

- multiple pregnancy

As a rule, it is more difficult to determine gender if the pregnancy is multiple. This does not mean that a mistake will necessarily be made, but its likelihood is greater if there are two or more fetuses in the womb. This is due to the fact that babies are pressed closely together, their limbs and umbilical cords are intertwined, which makes diagnosis much more difficult. It is not always easy to understand where whose arms, legs, and especially genitals are. If an ultrasound is performed by an experienced specialist using modern equipment, then the probability of error is small, but nevertheless it exists.

— features of the fetus

Another reason for possible inaccuracies in determining the sex of the fetus is related to the baby himself. There are cases when girls experience swelling of the labia in utero, which is why the doctor may confuse them with the scrotum. There is no need to worry about this, this is not a pathology, and the swelling will subside on its own.

A boy can take such a position and tuck his legs in such a way that his genitals become invisible, and the doctor mistakes him for a girl. In addition, fingers and the umbilical cord can often be confused with the penis, and the wrong conclusion can be drawn.

Can they make a mistake on an ultrasound?

The topic of how often doctors make mistakes about a child’s gender when conducting ultrasound diagnostics has been actively discussed ever since the ultrasound machine appeared. Some people listen to stories from life, while for others the main source of information on this issue is the Internet.

But no matter what they say, ultrasound is one of the most informative and popular procedures. Statistics say that only in 10 out of 100 percent is an ultrasound error possible when determining the sex of a child.

Read also: how to find out what sex a fetus is without ultrasound diagnostics.

If everything is in order with the equipment and it works properly, then it cannot give unreliable information, therefore, if such an incident occurs, the reason for this must be sought among other factors.

Statistical errors are rare.

When should I be examined to find out the gender for sure?

It should be noted right away that ultrasound diagnostics cannot give a 100% result. The only way to determine sex without any errors is through chorionic villus biopsy or amniocentesis. However, these procedures are never prescribed to determine the sex of the baby, since they can cause infection of the fetus, as well as the threat of termination of pregnancy.

Starting from the 15-16th week of pregnancy, you can fairly accurately predict whether it will be a boy or a girl. During the second screening, the doctor will most likely tell you the sex of the child. If the baby is well positioned, then you can see the penis and scrotum in a boy and the labia in a girl. Errors by week 20 are practically eliminated.

Experts believe that the most suitable period for determining sex is 23-25 weeks. At this time, the genitals are clearly visible, and the baby is not yet as large as at the end of pregnancy. It has room to straighten out and open up to the sensor.

As the period increases, the reliability decreases. The baby becomes larger, he tightens his legs, and the umbilical cord is often located between them, which makes it even more difficult to determine the sex. If the child is in a breech position, then it is even more difficult to see his genitals.

Statistics

What errors are most common when determining pregnancy?

Wrong deadline. We discussed this point in detail in the first part of the article.
Localization of pregnancy. In the early stages, it is very important not to miss an ectopic conception. A clear sign is the absence of a fertilized egg in the uterine cavity, detection of a hollow formation in the tube or near the ovary, a positive test for hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), as well as detection of a heartbeat in a formation located outside the uterine cavity.
Frozen conception is a lag in the size of the fertilized egg from the required one, the absence of an embryo or a slowdown in its development, or failure to find a heartbeat.
Incorrect number of fetuses - an error can creep in at a period of less than 5 weeks, or at later stages (more than 30) (if an ultrasound has not been performed previously).
If the procedure performed is often mistaken about the sex of the child, this most often depends on the length of pregnancy or the position of the fetus. As well as the professionalism of the researcher and the quality of the equipment.
Error in identifying the pathology of a developing embryo.

Women's opinions

If you listen to the reviews of representatives of the fairer sex, you can find out the following. Those women who named the sex of the child all three times during an ultrasound (and sometimes more) rarely had to deal with an error. At least one of the conclusions turned out to be reliable. If the expectant mother fails to find out the sex of the baby during two screening ultrasounds (the baby lies awkwardly or the umbilical cord covers the genitals), then the third study can be either correct or erroneous. Most patients preparing to become mothers declare the truthfulness of ultrasound. They say that the diagnostics showed the correct results. If a boy or girl is confirmed at least twice, then this is almost a guarantee that a child of that particular gender will be born.

Timing errors

During the first 2 months, all fertilized eggs develop according to the same scenario, so at this stage, experts determine the gestation period of the child by measuring the length of the embryo. The permissible error may be 1–2 days. If during an ultrasound the pregnancy is stated to be longer than the obstetric period (calculated from the first day of the last menstruation), this may be due to the fact that the woman mistook the slight bleeding that occurs when the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus as the last menstruation. And she had been pregnant for some time and had no idea about it at all.

There are also the opposite cases when ultrasound shows a period less than obstetric. This may be perceived as normal, but at the same time it may indicate abnormalities in the development of the fetus. In this case, it is most reasonable to do a repeat ultrasound, as well as Doppler sonography, which will help to exclude the development of hypoxia in the baby.

If the obstetric period does not coincide with what the ultrasound shows, the doctor leading the pregnancy can give certain recommendations:

do another ultrasound in 2 weeks;
consult with a number of specialists;
lie down to maintain the pregnancy.

A pregnant woman should not ignore the recommendations of her obstetrician-gynecologist, since the life and health of her unborn child largely depends on this. Experts allow a difference of up to 2 weeks between the obstetric and ultrasound diagnosis.

Sometimes ultrasound specialists confuse a hematoma or polyps in the uterus with an embryo

Multiple pregnancy

This is a pregnancy in which more than one fetus develops in the mother's belly. More often we are talking about twins, but cases have been recorded when a mother gives birth to up to 10 babies at the same time. True, such cases find a place in the book as a record and are extremely rare.

Twin pregnancy can be classified into three types, which in turn are classified into several categories.

The number of embryos in the uterus: twins, triplets, and so on, within the limits permitted by nature.
Number of fertilized eggs: twins can be born either from the fertilization of one egg or from different ones. Thus, this type within the classification can be divided into two subtypes:

bearing identical twins, when one egg is fertilized, which is subsequently divided into two with the same genetic makeup;
gestation of fraternal twins, when different eggs are fertilized at the same time, therefore, twins of the same or different sexes are born, physically similar to each other no more than siblings.

According to statistics, identical twins are born less frequently than fraternal twins, since the number of the latter has increased with the widespread introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Number of placentas and amniotic (aqueous) membranes:

Monoamniotic monochorionic pregnancy - occurs only in identical twins if the cell divided between 8 and 13 days from the moment of fertilization; in this case, there is one placenta for several fetuses, and there is no membrane between the fetuses;
Biamniotic monochorionic - also occurs only when carrying identical twins, the egg of which divided from 3 to 8 days after conception; in this case there will be one placenta and a two-layer membrane between the fetuses;
Biamniotic bichorionic - can occur in fraternal and identical twins, if the separation of the fertilized cell occurred no later than three days; in this example, each fetus will have a separate placenta and aqueous membrane.

It is possible to identify these parameters, and therefore establish the fact of bearing twins, only using functional research methods - in most cases we are talking about ultrasound.

Boys or girls?

As a result of an ultrasound examination during a monofetal pregnancy, the sex of the baby can be determined in the second trimester. The ideal period for this procedure is considered to be 20-22 weeks. During a twin pregnancy, the timing remains the same, but the pair of children often hides behind each other, and medical specialists do not see the genitals.

Therefore, it can be quite difficult to differentiate children in the womb by gender. Today, the ultrasound diagnostic method during pregnancy is the most highly informative. It is possible to recognize twins by ultrasound in 98% of cases.