Ultrasound is quite effective for determining the gender of the baby. With an experienced ultrasound technician and good equipment, the gender is correct about 95% of the time. The only time there may be a problem is if the baby is shy.
By now most of us know that the gender can be detected with ultrasound. What many don’t know is how is this done? What does the technician see that reveals the gender of the baby? Is it something I can see?
Sometimes parents that don’t want to know the gender worry that they may accidentally see something during the exam that will spoil the surprise. You can relax about this one. It is highly unlikely that you would be able to tell, even if there was a clear shot of the genitals during your exam. To the untrained eye, it would only look like a blur.
However, to the trained eye of the ultrasound technician, or the experienced mother, it is a different story. Once you’ve seen it in one baby, it is much easier to pick it out in the next. Even still, unless you were looking at the exact spot and the baby was in the right position, you still wouldn’t see it by accident.
The most obvious is the boy. The penis and scrotum can be clearly seen on the ultrasound screen. Some have said the umbilical cord can be mistaken for the penis. This really only happens with inexperienced technicians. The penis looks different, if you know what to look for and there is a clear view.
I remember thinking with my first pregnancy that the technician would be looking for boy parts. If she didn’t find any, the baby is a girl. That is not the case. The technician is looking for something specific in little girls.
There are three, small white bones that represent the labia. These three bones are found in the genital area. They are small and show as three little white lines in a row on the ultrasound. If these bones aren’t seen, a good technician will continue to look or will tell you that she isn’t completely sure of the gender.
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