Around the Web…

Check out these clickable links:

• A financial checklist for expectant parents — The Cradle
• Mothers sue the manufacturers of a prenatal baby gender test — New York Daily News
• Name that diaper bag! — lilSugar
• “Me time” — how often do you get some? — CafeMom
• More and more women are growing “afraid” of taking maternity leave — Good Morning America via Jezebel

Comments

I’m confused. Why didn’t those mothers have a sonogram to double check? Having a blue room, or pink clothes isn’t the end of the world.

- Anon on June 17th, 2009

Anon, it sounded like most did have a sonogram and then found out the error. However, most insurance plans only cover 2 sonograms: 1 at 10 wks or thereabouts and 1 at about 20 wks. If the baby has its legs crossed, you can’t tell the gender and don’t get another chance unless you pay out of pocket (which still seems cheaper than paying the $270 but maybe not…).

- MZ on June 17th, 2009

But I think the point here is not that the women couldn’t double check, it’s that the company’s claims are a lie. The test is NOT 99.9% accurate. Therefore, they shouldn’t be allowed to advertise as such.

- MZ on June 17th, 2009

If I hadn’t had GD, I would have only gotten one sonogram my entire pregnancy, at 19 weeks. Even the sonographer only claimed to be 90% accurate, at best. We ended up with 2 more sonograms before Lily was born, because of the GD, and they reconfirmed the sex for me every time because I was so worried I would have a little boy coming home to pink walls with butterflies and flowers

But you’re right, MZ, the issue is the company blatantly lied. Although I’m amazed at the woman in the story that blames the product for the dissolution of her marriage. I’m sorry, but if your husband is so hung up on having a boy that he’ll leave you when the baby is a girl, I’m pretty sure that marriage wasn’t on solid ground to start with.

- fnhdl on June 17th, 2009

I’d say that if a man is so immature, misogynistic, and selfish that he’d leaved his wife over giving birth to a girl then good riddance!

- Rose on June 17th, 2009

Cute picture!

- UggaMugga.com on June 17th, 2009

Those people are ricidulous and have no case. My sister in law has seen the sonogram and yeah that looks like a penis but you know what, it could easily be a girl and they know that. It’s just clothes…. I’m thinking gift receipts.

- Natasha on June 17th, 2009

I don’t know why, but when I think of a ‘Max’ I think of a shaggy dog.

- Christina Bledsoe on June 17th, 2009

I saw one of those gender test kits at a local supermarket just the other day. 99.9% accuracy would make it more accurate than amniocentesis, and no prenatal test is more accurate in predicting gender than amnio.

It’s a little disheartening that the family of the woman who named and bonded with the baby she thought would be a son was disappointed to find out it was actually a girl. Wouldn’t a healthy baby be more important, even if they would have preferred a boy?

I doubt that the man who left his wife over the incorrect result (even though the baby turned out to be a boy anyway) would have made the best, most loving husband. Really immature of him.

- Miao on June 17th, 2009

Miao, exactly! Does anyone actually think that things are 99.9% effective with no slip ups, or even believe that it IS 99.9% effective? Even with hand sanitizer, it will kill 9.9% of germs, but only the ones that can be killed. The “mega” germs stay on your hand which are usually the ones that make you sick. If birth control (of any kind) were as effective as it says, there would be way less surprise pregnancies too.

- Natasha on June 17th, 2009

^ that was supposed to say 99.9% (both times, instead of 9.9%)

- Natasha on June 17th, 2009

Companies shouldn’t make claims they can’t back up. Period. In that sense the women do have a case, Natasha. I hope they weren’t really traumatized to find out their kids were going to be the other gender, clothes are just clothes as others have pointed out, but yes, many people do believe those sorts of claims. I personally wouldn’t buy such a product, but I’m in the healthcare field and have additional knowledge.

- MZ on June 17th, 2009

3D ultrasound packages run about $250 here so I have no idea why they wouldn’t just go with that instead of trusting this method. In my mind they deserve what they got. You should be happy to have a healthy baby no matter the gender. That woman whose husband left is better off. If he left her for something so simple then he wasn’t going to be a very good husband/Father in the long run.

- Lorus on June 18th, 2009