Some hospitals in Scotland are refusing to let prospective mums and dads find out whether they are having a boy or girl, an investigation has found.
A Freedom of Information request by the Sunday Post revealed four of the 14 NHS boards in Scotland don’t reveal the unborn baby’s gender – resulting in a “postcode lottery” for parents who want to find it out.
Reasons for this include hospital staff being the subject of “verbal abuse” when they couldn’t definitively see the gender, the threat of legal action, or fears that some parents-to-be may terminate pregnancies after discovering the gender.
“There were threats of lawsuits if we got it wrong,” one midwife, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sunday Post. “And some women no longer nurtured the pregnancy if they were told it was a girl.”
[Read More: Should you find out the sex of your baby?]
Two of the hospitals simply said it was not in their policy to include finding out the sex during baby scans.
In response to the report, senior policy adviser at the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), Elizabeth Duff, said she understands finding out the sex of the baby is an “exciting” time for parents-to-be, however she understands the sonographer cannot always guarantee they will accurately identify the baby’s gender.
According to the NHS, the news that some hospitals refuse this is not anything new. “Some hospitals may have a policy of not telling parents the sex of their baby,” the NHS website states. “If your hospital does not routinely inform parents about their baby’s sex and you would still like to find out, you may be able to pay privately for a scan to find out.”
It states if you want to find out the sex of your baby, it’s usually done during your second routine ultrasound scan (sonogram) at 18-21 weeks pregnant – however the health service warns this is not an “exact science” and the sonographer will not be able to be 100% certain about your baby’s sex.
“For example, if your baby is lying in an awkward position or moving around a lot, it may be difficult or impossible to tell whether your baby is male or female,” the NHS adds.
Were you told the gender of your baby, only to find out it was wrong when the baby was born? Share your story with us – email ukparents@huffpost.com.