After I found out I was pregnant after IVF, I was excited for a lot of things. We were finally pregnant! We were gonna have a baby! The second immediate thought that just about every pregnant woman thinks about is “what am I having?”
If you follow me on Instagram or YouTube, I’ve been documenting just about everything in this pregnancy. Including our recent Gender Reveal.
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What is NIPT?
NIPT is a prenatal screening, which looks at DNA from your placenta in a sample of your blood to identify whether you’re at increased risk of giving birth to a child with a genetic disorder such as any of the Trisomys or Down Syndrome.
One of the benefits of this screening is that it can tell you the sex of your baby based on which chromosomes are found in the DNA sample.
XX = Girl
XY = Boy
The test can be performed as early as 9 weeks gestation.
How We Found Out The Gender
I was roughly 10+6 weeks pregnant when I went in for my NIPT. My OBGYN offered this test and I immediately scheduled it. We did not do genetic testing on our only embryo during IVF, so finding out if our baby was genetically normal was on my priority list. Finding out the gender was a bonus!
Getting the results of the test was a long wait – it felt like forever! At first the lab promised results within 7-10 business days, but it ended up actually taking them 15 business days to get back to me with the results!
Thankfully, everything came back normal and that we were having a GIRL.
Gender Reveal
Yep… we even had a gender reveal party for our Girl. The family was so excited and we were so excited to share the news with everyone. My husband was beyond thrilled as he has always said he would love to have a Girl. Obviously, any baby for us will be loved and adored.
Getting a 16 Week Ultrasound
Around 16 weeks, I was feeling anxious about our baby. I was in the “quiet” weeks of pregnancy. I wasn’t feeling any symptoms, and it was definitely too early to feel any fetal movement.
I ended up finding a private ultrasound really close to my house and booked an ultrasound for peace of mind.
The ultrasound package that I purchased came with a “gender sneak peek”. Even though I knew the gender via NIPT blood, I said “go ahead” anyway. What we saw on the screen was anything but “girl parts”.
The ultrasound technician was giddy and wrote on the screen “BOY!” and said congratulations. I laid on the table feeling absolutely stunned and confused. How could the NIPT be wrong?
Getting Answers About NIPT
Obviously, we were shocked and confused. A blood test that promises to be over 99% accurate was incorrect for us?
I ended up calling the lab who did the test to ask questions. I spoke with a genetic counselor who was just as stunned.
They never gave me a definite answer for the incorrect result. She gave me her “best guess” and that was that there wasn’t enough Y Chromosome present at the time of blood sample. Again, I never got a definite answer – just her best guess. Which made me question if there was human error somewhere down the line… but they’d never admit to it.
Anatomy Scan Results
We had our 20-week anatomy scan a few weeks later and got the ultimate confirmation. Baby is definitely a BOY!
Baby had all working parts. 3-Vessel Cord, all heart chambers, kidneys, brain function, and fingers and toes! We’re so in love with our baby! Check out our vlog to see our 20-week ultrasound pictures.
Adjusting to the News
It was a time of shock and confusion for a short period of time. We went from calling our baby by the girl name we chose, buying her clothes, etc… to a whole new baby in one fell swoop!
We’re obviously super excited for our baby and cannot wait to meet our son!
The most important thing is that they are healthy and well. That’s all we can ask for.
In Conclusion
I don’t want to scare anyone into not doing the NIPT genetic testing. It is a good test – but it can be unreliable for the gender screening! It had to be wrong for someone… why not ME!
The test is ultra sensitive in detecting risk of Down Syndrome. That is what my OBGYN told me, however. So keep that in mind.
FOLLOW MY JOURNEY!
I love sharing my journey with you all and love to connect with you guys frequently.
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Don’t be afraid to reach out if you have any infertility or IVF questions!
Hello there! I used Natera and had mine done at 10+3. I was told low risk and sex is a female, however, the sonographer saw a boy. My fetal fraction was 4.3%, so now I’m waiting for my 20wk scan to confirm gender. Would you mind sharing what company you used for the NIPT test?
I’m not sure the company my doctor’s office used. I think it was called NexGen? They’re not using them anymore. After my test was incorrect, my doctor said she had several more patients who also had incorrect results.
Your boy is beautiful! Congratulations again.
What was your fetal fraction rate? I am having twin girls.
Hi there! Was yours confirmed a boy at the ultrasound? I did natera as well!
Hello Ashley,
I had the NIPT test done with Harmony, and it said low risk and baby girl. What did you find our at your 20 weeks ultrasound?
I do hope this is me. I want a boy soooooo bad.
Hello so I used Natera and it said low risk and I was having a girl. Fetal fraction 11% I took the test at 13+5weeks. I am now 15 weeks and went to a local ultrasound place and she said it was a boy. I’m really hoping she’s wrong but we’re waiting to get another ultrasound when I’m further along.
My wife had the Maternit21 test done at 12w3d, the day after we did an elective ultrasound at a boutique and the tech immediately told us BOY & gave us several labeled ultrasound potty shots and side views. Nipt blood came back today which is a week later as GIRL. We have no idea what to believe although the ultrasound shows boy parts. After reading your story we are very skeptical now.
We tried Sneak Peek and had an amazing experience. Here’s our video of our whole experience starting with the test to our gender reveal party https://youtu.be/b721acFyifE
I had the same thing happen. I had an outside NIPT done at 9 weeks and it said “boy”, had my NIPT through my doctors office to check for chromosomal abnormalities and it came back “Girl”
Fetal fraction was 3.8. I have since had two outside ultrasounds along with my anatomy scan that all confirm “boy” parts and no girl parts. The only thing I have been offered is an amniocentesis to know for sure, but I’m super scared to go that route.