Ultrasound gender mistake

ash82brook · January 2013

Anyone been told and/or shown at 18/19 week ultrasound they were definitely having a boy and saw at a later ultrasound or at the time of birth the baby was actually a girl ? If so, what was the protusion showing on the scan?

+ASH+ · January 2013

I have not - mine were definitely boys. I think it's VERY uncommon to have a mistake after 16 weeks. I've heard of a few rare u/s mistaking the umbilical cord for the penis, but I think that would be the fault of an inexperienced tech.

At 13 week ultrasounds, boys and girls are practically identical (it takes a very experienced tech and the perfect angle to differentiate between the penis and the developing clitoris).

Michelle3081 · January 2013

It could be anything - like the umbilical cord. How did you get two ultrasounds?

ash82brook · January 2013

I am going to get a second elective 3D ultrasound done at 30 weeks (not until the end of March) to make sure it's definitely a boy. My first son's ultrasounds look nothing like this one and I want to make sure because I am not 100% convinced and I have read posts where this happens to people. This pregnancy has been total opposite of my first so it makes me wonder.

vhcoleman09 · January 2013

ash82brook:
I am going to get a second elective 3D ultrasound done at 30 weeks (not until the end of March) to make sure it's definitely a boy. My first son's ultrasounds look nothing like this one and I want to make sure because I am not 100% convinced and I have read posts where this happens to people. This pregnancy has been total opposite of my first so it makes me wonder.

Could you just ask your ob or another tech to look at the ultrasounds and see what he/she thinks? I would never spend extra money on an elective ultrasound because I suspect a boy may actually be a girl. But that's because I'm not experienced at reading ultrasounds and would just ask for a second experienced opinion (for free).

TheyCalledHerKate · January 2013

I've heard of this happening from people online but don't know anyone IRL it happened to. Boys are usually pretty easy to distinguish on an u/s between 18-22 weeks---unless the legs are not spread far apart enough. I worry about this too. I was going to do a 3D anyway, but I also want to re-confirm the sex of the baby!

BelhurstBride · January 2013

My BFF had the opposite. At her a/s they told her she was having a girl. At 30w she had an additional u/s to monitor her placenta previa and discovered she was having a boy.

bluelovin · January 2013

When my sister was pregnant with her first, she was told at her a/s that she was having a girl, but when the baby was born, she was a he! Totally surprised my sister and her boyfriend.

Courtimilk · January 2013

There was a couple back home that brought their baby boy home to a pink nursery. The u/s said girl at 20 weeks and there was no medical reason to double check until the birth.

eco+ri · January 2013

Boys are harder to confuse than girls. I was told with my son he was a boy at 14 weeks, and confirmed at 20 weeks. This time, I was told a girl at 16 weeks, and confirmed at 21 weeks, she is still a girl.