Some hospitals in Scotland are choosing not to disclose the gender of unborn babies to parents over concerns around legal action, it has been claimed.
Some midwives reportedly fear that legal action will be taken against them by parents-to-be if they get the gender wrong, but one told the Sunday Post they were concerned about sex-selective abortions.
The newspaper reports that following a freedom of information request, four out 14 NHS boards in Scotland said that they did not reveal the unborn baby's gender.
Two unnamed midwives mentioned the possibility of legal action if they got the gender wrong.
'Mistakes happen,' one told the newspaper.
'I had a case where a couple were told they were having a wee girl and everything they had was pink, the nursery was decorated pink, and then they had a boy.'
Another had the same concern but added their fear that the mothers of girls may not continue with the pregnany.
'There were threats of legal action if we got it wrong,' they said.
'And some women no longer nurtured the pregnancy if they were told it was a girl.'
NHS Grampian said sonographers in its hospitals no longer reveal the gender because they have received 'verbal abuse' in the past after being unable to tell whether the baby was a boy or girl.
The spokesperson told the Sunday Post that policy documents were being amended to clarify that 'gender is not determined' unless the pregnant woman needs to be informed of a medical condition in the womb.
NHS boards in Orkney, Shetland and Forth Valley also withhold information about the gender.
Elizabeth Duff, senior policy adviser at the National Childbirth Trust, said it was not always possible to accurately determine an unborn baby's gender from sonographs.
'Naturally, while having a scan many parents want to find out the sex of their baby – it's exciting, enables them to plan and can help with bonding,' she said.
'However, due to many factors such as the clarity of the images and position of the baby, the sonographer cannot guarantee they will accurately identify the baby's gender.'
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