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| Yes | 59% | 110 votes | Total: 188 votes | |
| No | 41% | 78 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesFor most parents, the sonogram is one of the first big milestones in the pregnancy. For me personally, it was the first time I remember feeling connected to my baby and getting excited, as the pregnancy was unplanned and I know next to nothing about babies or children. The question of its accuracy is a tricky one to answer, as there are a few different variables involved. As with anything involving having a child, the results can be unpredictable.
Most doctors would recommend not having a sonogram done until at least the sixteenth week, as the baby may not be developed enough to tell the gender yet. My doctor told us that she tells her patients to wait until week twenty, which is when ours was done. At this point the baby's genitals, while not completely formed, are developed enough to get a pretty clear picture. However, in some cases, some parents are so excited about the pregnancy and finding out everything they can about their new baby that they rush the process. They get the sonogram early, thinking this will give them more time to prepare and buy the things they will need. Instead, they may get an unclear diagnosis, simply because the baby is too under-developed at that time.
Another problem with getting a clear diagnosis could be the baby's positioning inside the womb. You could wait until the end of the pregnancy to get the sonogram, but if the baby is turned just the wrong way, then it could be nearly impossible to tell. Luckily for us, our son made himself very clear, but this is not always the case with every baby. However, with technology as advanced as it is today, even this obstacle might be overcome.
While a sonogram can never be one hundred percent correct, I believe that they are still a great idea for those wanting to know the gender of their baby. If a couple is willing to wait for the right time, and the baby is positioned normally, then a sonogram can be a great way to get prepared for the birth of your baby, and can be a very accurate tool for finding out its gender. For those who simply cannot wait, you might need to hope your new daughter likes the color blue and dressing up in clothes covered in footballs and dinosaurs. On the plus side, she will be so young she will not really know what she is wearing, and it will be a fun way to confuse everyone who asks about your new son. Or you could always get another sonogram at a later date for confirmation.
Learn more about this author, Michelle Swank.
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No
As I sat in that room, waiting for the doctor, I was excited to know that I was about to find out if I was having a boy or a girl. The doctor came in, did the sonogram, and to no surprise, told me that I was having a boy. Everybody said that I looked like I was having a boy.
About four weeks later, my husband and I went to get another sonogram, and again, the doctor said that it was a boy and showed us his "penis." We were so excited about our new little addition to our family which consisted of just my husband and I.
I had a baby shower for a little boy. I took everything home, and I opened and washed everything. I had did not know what to do with the quantity of things that I had received, but I was genuinely grateful for them.
One night, shortly before I went into labor, my mother-in-law made a suggestion to me. She said, "If I were you, I would decide on a name for a girl, just in case." Of course I denied the idea, however, I called my husband, who was out of the country at the time, and asked him what we would name the baby if it was a girl. He told me that was ridiculous, and that it was a boy, but we still threw a name out there, just in case.
My water broke about an hour later, and I went to the hospital. My labor and delivery was not at all traumatic, other than the fact that when my baby was born, I heard everybody say, "It's a girl!" In my denial, and thinking that it was a joke, I said, "No! It's a boy!" The doctor smiled at me and told me, "I've been doing this for many years and I can assure you that this baby is a girl." I was shocked!
My mother-in-law called my husband to give him the news and he, like me, was shocked. He then wanted to talk to me and said, "What do you want to name her?" I told him that I thought that we had already decided on a name, but he told me that he said that just to give me peace. He didn't really want to name our daughter whatever it was he said.
It took me several weeks to recover from that shock, and from time to time within those two weeks, I would occasionally call her a him and instead of saying "she," I would say "he."
I would have to say, that with my experience, sonograms are not completely dependable. With my second child, the doctor got it right, and he was, in fact, a he. My advice would be, it's okay to get the sonogram, but don't depend on it. Don't buy hundreds of dollars in baby things of one particular gender, or don't have a baby shower for one particular gender. This could be potentially costly.
Learn more about this author, Jennifer Rojas.
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