NIPT wrong?

I got the NIPT (harmony) at 10 weeks and it came back boy.

I just had my 20 week ultrasound and got a firm "nope, that's a labia" from the tech. When I said I'd had the harmony test and that it was a boy, she got her supervisor who also said she would bet money on girl.

I am so confused :think:

I really don't want to get my hopes up, it took WEEKS for the gender disappointment to go down enough that I don't cry thinking about all the things I won't get to ever do with the daughter I assumed I would have.

Anyone had the test give the wrong gender? I've googled and it's mostly people getting girl results on NIPT and having a boy because they don't collect enough of the chromosome?

Argh.

Twopink - that is so confusing. I hope the technicians are right and it is a little pink bundle!

A question for atomic because I am worried about NIPT tests being inaccurate (whenever I get pg/take them)... is it more likely to get a false girl or false boy reading? If they are testing for Y chromosomes to show up in the mother's blood, would it be impossible to detect something that isn't there? So even if there is a tiny bit of Y chromosome that HAS to mean baby boy? Whereas if you got all X chromosome there is a tiny chance they missed the baby's Y and it could still be a boy? Hope this question makes sense

Have you met with your OB to discuss?
Ive been doing ultrasound for 5 years and the only time I've seen a NIPT say boy and ultrasound said girl the baby was a girl but had an abnormality with the sex chromosomes confirmed by further testing (I believe she had Turners syndrome but can't 100% remember). It also could have been a mix up at the lab, the NIPT tests are very acurate but still never 100%.
Hopefully your OB can provide you with some clarity.

Blue2: That is correct!

Twopink: Like Summer said, there are some possibilities -- Turners had crossed my mind, as did losing a male twin very close to blood draw... but sonography is still so prone to error that I'd still be thinking that baby was just smushed or awkwardly positioned vs the NIPT being wrong. Still really hope this is your girl!

I’m interested in what your OB says as I want to take an NIPT soon to determine gender too.

I think the accuracy of the test is extremely high though so I’m inclined to agree with the test rather than the image.

Pls let us know what you find out


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Yeah I am kinda trying to assume it’s a boy with bad positioning. Just too many what ifs and I don’t want to get my hopes up and end up going through my GD again!

Next midwife appt is next week, I will see what they say.

Most stuff I’ve read about the NIPT being wrong at birth was people told girls who got boys and that was due to inadequate sample to get the Y chromosome. Pretty sure I should stick with my assumption of it’s a boy and he was just hiding his bits. Just wish both techs had said something like it was too hard to tell and not “that’s a labia” :sigh:

wow that must be hard to deal with considering you had to get used to the idea of having a boy :( I hope things turn out ok xox

If the NIPT is really wrong, this would be the first legitimately wrong NIPT (on gender) I've personally ever seen. I would remain highly skeptical and expect a boy. Most of the "wrong" NIPT tests I've seen were in people who had really early ultrasounds that did not match with the NIPT (so the baby on ultrasound looked girl but then the nub rose) and they chose to believe the ultrasouns since it told them what they wanted to hear. But at 20 weeks a tech should be able to tell gender pretty reliably. While I'd still put more stock into NIPT, it's certainly more of a confusing situation than when someone has an ultrasound saying "girl" at 11 weeks and then has a boy NIPT (that baby is all but certainly a boy).

Any chance of another ultrasound?

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Originally Posted by SummerHope

Have you met with your OB to discuss?
Ive been doing ultrasound for 5 years and the only time I've seen a NIPT say boy and ultrasound said girl the baby was a girl but had an abnormality with the sex chromosomes confirmed by further testing (I believe she had Turners syndrome but can't 100% remember). It also could have been a mix up at the lab, the NIPT tests are very acurate but still never 100%.
Hopefully your OB can provide you with some clarity.

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These were the only other situations I've seen (other than early ultrasounds or those done by people who were less skilled, like a friend who was a cardiosonographer rather than a baby-trained tech) where the ultrasound and NIPT did not agree.

I don't want to scare anyone but that would be something to keep in the back of your mind - you probably will want to consult with your doc about this discreptancy to see if s/he requests any other followup testing.

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Originally Posted by Blue2

Twopink - that is so confusing. I hope the technicians are right and it is a little pink bundle!

A question for atomic because I am worried about NIPT tests being inaccurate (whenever I get pg/take them)... is it more likely to get a false girl or false boy reading? If they are testing for Y chromosomes to show up in the mother's blood, would it be impossible to detect something that isn't there? So even if there is a tiny bit of Y chromosome that HAS to mean baby boy? Whereas if you got all X chromosome there is a tiny chance they missed the baby's Y and it could still be a boy? Hope this question makes sense

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There are so few NIPT opposites that it's not really even worth going down this rabbithole. I don't want to hold out false hope for anyone and so I'm going to decline to answer this. I suspect the primary reason for NIPT opposites is technician error and that, I suspect, could go either way and so I don't want to have anyone grabbing at straws about NIPT being wrong.

Practically every time if the NIPT test disagrees with the ultrasound it's because the ultrasound techs made a mistake. Much less likely but I've still seen it a couple times - the baby had a chromosomal abnormality.

Yeah, a possible abnormality has crossed my mind, but I’m goig to stick with “hidden penis” until otherwise. I’ll see if I can get another ultrasound when I have my midwife appt next week - and see what they say!

Stupid hope! :fight:

Thanks everyone!

I think that's much less likely. It's worth bringing up but please don't stress over it - not at all likely (and the NIPT chromosome test would detect most of those type of abnormalities anyway)

While I was training at my current job I was once watching a complete anatomy scan another sonographer was doing. We were both ready to guess girl with about 80%...no penis anywhere in the 45 minutes she had been scanning and we saw a not perfect but pretty decent "3 lines"...right as she was about to tell them she was thinking it was a girl...out popped the baby's penis. It had been tucked tight between legs the entire time. It doesn't happen super often but there are some babies that can be tricky.

Follow up is definitely warranted though, talk to your medical provider. Also you may want to see if you have the actual results and what the % of sample they got was.

There is a test that isn't a real NIPT but is marketed as one for gender where people buy it over the counter and then it uses a finger prick of blood sample which is then mailed in to tell gender. I have heard/seen that test be inaccurate quite a few times (it only tells gender), it doesn't sound like that was the test you did (it's not through a doctor), but just wanted to throw that out there.

Thank you so much 2blue - it is true that several people have told me they had a NIPT when they did the finger prick test this past two years. Agree that doesn't sound like what happened in this case but great catch - always worth mentioning.

Is it true that if you have had a boy previously then there is a chance that some Y chromosome could be in your blood still and that could lead to a boy gender in the NIPT test ? Doesn’t seem right to me.

I’ve also read that if the test is done too early and baby hasn’t developed their organs yet then if it’s a boy the Y chromosome won’t show up?

Idk neither one seems right....

Just wondering if anyone can help me clarify


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They can tell the difference between the DNA from past pregnancies and current pregnancies. I can't find it now but I read about how they do it and I was satisfied by the process. It's 97-99% accurate for gender depending on what test you use.

You can have the test too early but my understanding is that it isn't about the baby's organs developing, it is the amount of comingling with your blood. Early in pregnancy the baby doesn't yet share your blood supply and the yolk sac is providing nutrition so there's not much of its DNA in your blood yet.

Thanks atomic!

I was thinking surely the genetic makeup of the baby is determined once the sperm and egg meet, and that’s why I was confused as to why it was necessary to wait until after 10 weeks (apparently that’s when the sex organs develop also) .

Makes sense now


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Yes the genetic makeup is determined at conception. The confusion with the sex organs comes in because until about 10 weeks the Y chromosome is dormant, so both boy and girl babies look like girl babies on ultrasounds (often until the 13th week). But in their DNA they are still totally different and the NIPT can detect that regardless of what their genitals look like. Then, during the 10th week the Y chromosome "wakes up" and starts directing the body to make testosterone and it is testosterone that makes the genitals turn from what appear to be girl genitals, into boy genitals. The "clitoris" becomes a penis, the "ovaries" become testicles and a few other physical changes occur. But the recipe for all that to happen is set in the DNA at conception and can be detected in the mom's blood****** before the physical changes can be seen on ultrasound..

Hi TwoPinkPlease

I hope everything is going well for you. I was wondering what you found out about the discrepancy between your NIPT and your ultrasound?




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yes we'd all love an update when you have a chance. :heart:

Just wanted to follow up for anyone who finds this thread searching.

I had my very much BOY baby a week ago and he is perfect 😍

As suspected by my doctor, the testicles were not fully descended at the time if the 20 week scan (normal) which is why I got the confusing results!

Good luck to everyone still trying, and I know everyone says it but the gender disappointment melts away when you see your perfect new baby ❤️

Thank you so very much for updating us - this helps so many people!

HUGEST congrats on your new little man!!!

Huge congrats twopinkplease I'm so glad you updated I think of you often! Enjoy those snuggles my 3rd little man is 3 months already!!! It goes so fast xx