MM Gender scanning
Jenny Brewer
We’re all familiar with ultrasound scans to check baby’s growth and development, but more and more mums to be are having scans for another reason…
Are you planning to ‘sneaka peek?’
There’s no doubt that guessing whether you’re having a boy or girl is one of the exciting aspects of pregnancy, but an increasing number of mums – and dads – to be are choosing to take away the element of surprise on ‘D-Day’ by opting for a fetal gender scan, with most professing a desire to be able to plan and prepare as the main reason for doing so! Available from 16 weeks, these scans will let you see how your
baby is developing, but will also give you the opportunity to ‘sneak a peek’ and see whether your baby is a boy or girl. The scans, which are carried out in exactly the same way as the
standard scans carried out at your antenatal appointments, are widely available from many private clinics and are increasingly referred to as ‘souvenir scans’. Practitioners, who carry out the scans, are basically looking for
the embryo’s genital nub or protuberance. If your baby is a boy, then the bud grows and develops into a penis and scrotum. If it’s a girl, the genital nub will become the clitoris and labia. It’s a gradual process, but it’s possible to distinguish from about twelve weeks. Most practitioners, however, recommend having the scan from about 16 weeks. The scans carry a degree of accuracy of 98 per cent but there can sometimes be issues that make distinguishing the sex impossible, such as the umbilical cord being in the way, or the legs too close together. One mum to be, who opted for a fetal gender scan, is 28-year-
old beautician, Jenny Brewer. Jenny and her partner Daryl had the scan carried out at 25 weeks and Jenny was delighted with the whole process.
‘Knowing that we were having a girl meant that we could have the nursery etc all ready for her’
10 Modernmum ‘I chose to have the scan,’ Jenny says, ‘because I am, by nature,
a very organised person, and I wanted to have everything in place for when my – as I discovered at the scan – daughter arrived. (Jenny and Daryl have since welcomed baby Bonnie!) ‘Knowing that we were having a girl meant that we could have
the nursery etc all ready for her. I know some people will say that it takes all the fun out of wondering what sex your baby will be, but I enjoyed more knowing exactly what sex my baby would be. I suppose it just depends on your personality.’ Much as they are becoming more popular, however, there’s no
doubt that the scans have caused some controversy since they don’t serve any diagnostic or clinical purpose. In fact, last year, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) was forced to carry out a study of the ultrasound scans to ensure that they were safe. The HPA’s Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation found no
evidence to suggest that routine ultrasounds used in antenatal checks were harmful to unborn babies but pointed out that, in randomised-controlled trials, there had been ‘weak evidence’ that it may affect the developing nervous system, potentially affecting what would be the child’s natural handedness, ie, whether it is left or right handed. Having researched fetal gender scans prior to her own,
however, Jenny had no concerns about undergoing a scan for non-clinical reasons. ‘As any pregnant woman knows, ultrasound scans are part and
parcel of pregnancy,’ she says. ‘All of the evidence is there to prove that ultrasound has been carried out for decades without any apparent ill effects, and, like most women, I had absolutely no concerns about having the scan. It was quick and, as always, painless, and was no different to the standard scans that I and any other pregnant woman has.’
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