Gender reveal at NT Scan?

nmbmick · May 2016

I'm a FTM and I don't know much about the NT scan other than it checks for certain chromosomal abnormalities. I've been seeing on the ultrasound thread that people are also finding out their baby's gender during these scans! Does that always/often happen? I thought 12-13 weeks was too early to find out the gender. I'm asking because I have my scan next week and, if they are going to tell me the gender, my husband will want to rearrange his schedule so he can be there too (if not I was just planning on going by myself). Thanks for your help!

elsie2014 · May 2016

The anatomy scan is at 20 weeks, that's when you'll find out the gender. It's too early to tell at 12 weeks. Even if the tech tries to tell you they can see what the sex is, there's a high probability they could be seeing wrong at 12 weeks.

The people that are finding out early on this board are finding out from the blood testing that goes along with the NT scan.

Katemr1146 · May 2016

The blood tests don't necessarily go with an NT test. They're generally for high risk patients or older moms. Some doctors offices do these with an NT test, and some don't.
I'm paying out of pocket for the blood test because I don't fit the criteria for needing it. My doctors office won't do the NT test in addition to that.

elsie2014 · May 2016

I realize that, I'm just saying they're usually done at the same appointment, which is why OP probably thinks people are finding out from the NT scan.

mrszoess · May 2016

lurking trom October16: they're not done at the same appointment. panorama testing is done between 9 and 12. my mfm did my nt scan and gave us an 85 percent guess she was a girl and she definitely is

elsie2014 · May 2016

OMG I give up. Lol. I didn't have either done, I was just trying to reassure OP that most people find out at the anatomy scan...that seemed to be the main point of her question.

If they offer to guess at your NT scan, OP, you can tell them you'd prefer to wait until your anatomy scan when your husband will be there, or you can let them tell you what they think. If you end up needing the blood testing based on your NT scan results, then you will for sure have the sex then.

leighry · May 2016

I think a lot of times the US tech doesn't even give a guess unless you ask (at least that's been my experience). And at the best it's just that, a guess. I tried paying attention to my 12 week US Friday but other than the profile and a limb here or there it's all Greek to me still, with #4 haha. I'll let them tell me at my appointment June 10. Can't wait!

nmbmick · May 2016

My doctor said I needed to get some blood work done before and as part of the NT scan (I got that done a couple days ago). Will they have the results from that at the scan or are you saying that they send those results (including the sex reveal) to you later? Thanks!

leighry · May 2016

@nmbmick if you are having an uncomplicated pregnancy usually there are two blood draws done right around the NT scan. They do them about 3-4 weeks apart and the results of those tell you your chances of down syndrome trisomy 18? And something else I think... but they need the results of both tests before they give you your results, so usually you get a call around 17-18 weeks. I don't know if that helps at all?

nmbmick · May 2016

Thanks everyone for your help! @leighry That makes sense-- I feel like I've gotten a lot of blood drawn over the past month but my doctors haven't been very good at explaining what exactly it's for each time. Thanks for the clarification!

comealongponds · May 2016

If you're having the IPS (integrated prenatal screening) done, which it sounds like you are - you cannot find out the sex from that bloodwork. That bloodwork looks at the levels of certain things in your blood and, combined with NT scan measurements, are used to estimate your risk of T21, T18 and open neural tube defects.

High risk mommas have cell-free DNA testing (Harmony, Panorama...there's others) drawn and those tests can tell you the sex.

MissAmeliaPond · May 2016

elsie2014 said:

The anatomy scan is at 20 weeks, that's when you'll find out the gender. It's too early to tell at 12 weeks. Even if the tech tries to tell you they can see what the sex is, there's a high probability they could be seeing wrong at 12 weeks.

The people that are finding out early on this board are finding out from the blood testing that goes along with the NT scan.

The bolded is just... not correct. There is blood testing that goes along with the NT scan, but it is not the same as the NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) that some of the women on this board are getting. As @comealongponds said, NIPT is performed for high-risk mamas (AMA or family history) which checks for many more genetic risk factors/anomalies, and as a bonus will also tell you the sex of the baby. The standard first tri blood tests only test for the few things PPs mentioned above, and will not tell the sex of the baby.

For normal pregnancies, you can find out the sex at the 20 week anatomy scan. The NT scan is performed between 11-14 weeks, which is still too early to make a call on the sex since the genital tubercle looks the same for all babies at the earlier stages of development.

Muscatmommyof4 · May 2016

Ive had the standard genetic testing which is a blood draw between 10-14 weeks the nt ultrasound and then the second blood draw between 15-20 weeks. And at the nt ultrasound if you are closer to 14 weeks the tech or Dr will give a guess at sex after they get all the necessary measurements. I was 13 weeks and the tech wouldn't guess but the Dr did and he got a very clear pic of the sex but they do tell you that they could be wrong. And at the end you get a printout with your results from the blood work and the ultrasound that does not confirm the sex. It just depends on your tech and dr if you find out what your having. So if you would like a guess and the tech or dr is willing then you might get lucky and find out early but it's not guaranteed. And yes some woman over 35 or if you have other risk factors get the sex back in different blood work but not for this testing.

elsie2014 · May 2016

MissAmeliaPond said:

elsie2014 said:

The anatomy scan is at 20 weeks, that's when you'll find out the gender. It's too early to tell at 12 weeks. Even if the tech tries to tell you they can see what the sex is, there's a high probability they could be seeing wrong at 12 weeks.

The people that are finding out early on this board are finding out from the blood testing that goes along with the NT scan.

The bolded is just... not correct. There is blood testing that goes along with the NT scan, but it is not the same as the NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) that some of the women on this board are getting. As @comealongponds said, NIPT is performed for high-risk mamas (AMA or family history) which checks for many more genetic risk factors/anomalies, and as a bonus will also tell you the sex of the baby. The standard first tri blood tests only test for the few things PPs mentioned above, and will not tell the sex of the baby.

For normal pregnancies, you can find out the sex at the 20 week anatomy scan. The NT scan is performed between 11-14 weeks, which is still too early to make a call on the sex since the genital tubercle looks the same for all babies at the earlier stages of development.

My apologies, I already clarified that I didn't know, as I didn't have the NT scan or blood work. The main point I was trying to clarify was, is that most women find out the sex at the anatomy scan, and the ones finding out early are finding out from blood work, not the NT scan, which was the OP's concern.

jenesiso · May 2016

I had the CVS Panorama blood test taken last week and I will know the sex tomorrow or so. I'm a first time mother and I'll be 37 when I give birth, so if that qualifies me as high risk, then ok. Kinda nice to find the sex this early. (I am 12w today.)

KRMcD · May 2016

Most women who find out the sex of their baby at this point find out from NIPT. However, the closer you are to 14 weeks during your NT it is possible for the ultrasound tech or doctor to guess at your sex with greater than 50/50 accuracy, but it's certainly far from guaranteed accuracy.

That being said, we had NIPT and a NT scan. We already knew it was a boy going in but when the ultrasound tech checked she said, "Oh yeah, definitely a boy." When the MFM checked again a little later she said almost the same thing.

mrs_hoyahoo · May 2016

Exactly what @KRMcD said. At my NT scan, the tech made a pretty confident guess that we're having a boy ("that sure looks like a penis to me!"). But this is rare - they just have to be lucky enough to get a money shot of the right area. And it only works for boys - seeing something indicates there's a better chance it's a boy. Seeing nothing doesn't tell you anything.

So to answer your original question, I think you can go in your own

At most they make an educated guess - won't know for sure until 20 weeks!

hellopartyof5 · May 2016

This is a great example of why they can't really tell you at 12 weeks. The genitilia are so similar at that point.

https://www.baby2see.com/gender/external_genitals.html

comealongponds · May 2016

jenesiso said:

I had the CVS Panorama blood test taken last week and I will know the sex tomorrow or so. I'm a first time mother and I'll be 37 when I give birth, so if that qualifies me as high risk, then ok. Kinda nice to find the sex this early. (I am 12w today.)

You are considered advanced maternal age, as you are over 35, so you are high risk of having a baby with a genetic abnormality.

MissAmeliaPond · May 2016

@nauticallife thanks for posting that! I was looking for it when I posted my response but couldn't find that website! Makes the whole "genitalia is ambiguous" easier to comprehend when you can see the pictures like that.

sweetsasaurus · May 2016

With my previous pregnancy we KNEW the gender at the NT scan. It was a boy with zero ambiguity. If I had the pictures on my phone I'd post them. We had our NT scan for this pregnancy and they're pretty sure it's a girl, but can't be 100%. The place I go has great equipment so that may help.

sweetsasaurus · May 2016

Okay, I found the picture, posted it, and then changed my mind about sharing it since it has personal information on it. I can only figure out how to edit a post and not delete it entirely, so please forgive this unnecessary addition to the conversation.

juliehollz13 · May 2016

*Lurking*

Just to throw a monkey wrench in ...lol....my OBGYN doesn the NT scan in 2 parts, first done between 11-14 weeks and then again 15-18 weeks PLUS an anatomy scan. So technically you *could* find out at your 2nd NT scan if they do an U/S at that appt too, but I think what you're referring to OP is the NIPT scan. Also, it's standard procedure to get a blood test at the same time as your NT scan but it does NOT test for sex or chromosomes. I have to look up what it tests for but it's something else and nothing to do with the NIPT test which specifically tests for chromosomes.

Edited to add:

FIRST-TRIMESTER COMBINED SCREENING

NT screening can be combined with blood tests, known as the first trimester combined screening, for more definitive results. A first trimester blood test measures hCG and a pregnancy protein called PAPP-A (pregnancy associated plasma protein A), two hormones produced by the fetus and passed into the mother's bloodstream. Low levels of PAPP-A early in pregnancy indicate increased risk of genetic abnormalities, heart problems and preterm birth. These levels, combined with the results of NT screening and the mother's age, can provide a risk assessment for Down syndrome and trisomy 18.

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FIRST-TRIMESTER COMBINED SCREENING

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