How accurate do you think sonograms at 4 mnths. preg. are?

hospitalstaph · Jan 29, 2005

When I was pregnant with my first in '97 at 20 weeks I had a sono and was told that it was a girl. We were really surprised because my mother in law had 3 boys before a girl. Well guess what at delivery I had a healthy 8 lb 8 oz baby BOY! We were thrilled and if there is ever a time to discover the mistake it is at delivery. We were so happy that we did not care. I have since gone on to have two girls:)

Tracy

Dawn27 · Jan 29, 2005

As a rough guide on average with a 2D ultrasound and experienced operator 70% accuracy.

3D and 4D ultrasound scans allow for more accuracy

mishayla96 · Jan 30, 2005

Thanks for the knowledge :)

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2005

Can someone explain the difference between 2D, 3D and 4D ultrasounds? 4D is the one that comes out sort of tan/brownish and you can see better pix right? But what's the difference between 2D and 3D?

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jan 30, 2005

(it took fil 5x's for girl, dh and i 3x's for girl) and poof they called and its a girl.

what is fil & dh ? a friend of mine with 4 girls just had a little boy. she had 3 ultrasounds and after all 3 (the last at 34 wks) was told she was having a girl. imagine how surprised they were at delivery. that doesn't happen much anymore! does it?

Burnt Out, ASN, RN · Jan 30, 2005

FIL=Father in Law

DH=Darling husband (or darn husband if you are mad at him! :chuckle )

allnurses Guide · Jan 30, 2005

What is FIL & DH ? A friend of mine with 4 girls just had a little boy. She had 3 ultrasounds and after all 3 (the last at 34 wks) was told she was having a girl. Imagine how surprised they were at delivery. That doesn't happen much anymore! Does it?

It happens alot - surprises.

steph

palesarah · Jan 30, 2005

I'm going to guess that it depends some on the skill of the sonographer as well. LOL, we've done some informal scans at work with our portable US machine (we have 3 nurses who are expecting this spring!) and while we finally saw something on one girl and guessed right, it was just a guess with our untrained eyes

But I think the sonographers our two OB practices employ are pretty good- we do about 800 deliveries a year, and the majority- 80 to 90%, I'd say- of those know the sex from their 20 week scans. We only have a handful of ultrasound surprises a year- and when they happen, we all hear about it because they make some pretty good stories! The best one-

my labor preceptor, an OB nurse of some 20 years experience, had a delivery. This was right before she started orienting me to labor. They were expecting a boy, baby was born, no one checked. Baby was delivered to mom's chest and went to breast right away. The baby was called down to admitting as a boy. Parrents were calling baby by the name they had picked out for the boy they were expecting. Mom & baby were stable and happily breastfeeding and the nurse came out to the desk to give them some private time in between assessments. It was about an hour after the birth when the dad came running out to the desk saying "we have a problem!"

It seems someone finally got a glimpse of what was between the legs and it wasn't a boy at all!

Since then, I always have mom or dad check and annouce the sex immediately after the birth :)

BETSRN · Jan 30, 2005

hey all...i was just wondering how accurate you feel sonograms ar in determining sex when you are 4 months along? the reason i am wondering is because my sil is expecting her first child and her and my bil really wanted a girl (it took fil 5x's for girl, dh and i 3x's for girl) and poof they called and its a girl. i am thrilled for them but just how accurate is it? i thought i heard once that its harder to mistake a boy for a girl than a girl for a boy? i am a happy aunt no matter what, just curious what ya'll think on this... :redpinkhe :yelclap:

an ultrasound is not a reliable way to determine the baby's sex and they should not e done for that purpose. it is a misuse of technology.

the only way to accurately predict the baby's sex is by amniocentesis and that can cause miscarriage if done improperly, not to mention the chance of infection with resulting loss of the pregnancy.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2005

But I think the sonographers our two OB practices employ are pretty good- we do about 800 deliveries a year, and the majority- 80 to 90%, I'd say- of those know the sex from their 20 week scans.

Are you saying that 80-90% choose to know the sex, or at 20 weeks there is an 80-90% chance they can tell the sex?

I'm just asking because it seems that NO ONE wants to be surprised anymore. I understand it makes things easier for buying baby things before the birth and all, but it just takes all the fun out of it, in my eyes. There are so few true surprises in life, and hearing "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" is one of the best! I have a coworker who isn't finding out the sex of her baby, and I think she's the first person I know who HASN'T found out.

My big fear is that when I (god willing) have children in the future, that some doctor or ultrasound tech won't slip up and blab the sex to me.

snowfreeze, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2005

What happened to waiting till they are born.