This is a scene remembered by an experienced ultrasound examiner.
A few years ago, a couple scanning around 12 weeks of pregnancy asked an ultrasound doctor to tell them the sex of the child.
"they say,'We need to know the gender, because if it's a girl, we end up pregnant,'" the doctors recalled.
As an ultrasound physician, you have to deal with terminal cancer and abortion. But it still disgust me to this day. "
A new study released this month in Australia suggests that some parents may beat out baby girls because they prefer their sons. This raises questions about whether it is necessary to provide parents with information about the sex of the fetus in the early stages of pregnancy.
At present, many obstetricians and ultrasound doctors do not provide gender information during 12-week scans, during which time it is still easy to abort, mainly because the information is not necessarily accurate and is hardly for any medical purpose. In China and India, however, people are reluctant to do so. Female abortion is a recognized problem in China and India, where doctors have been banned from disclosing the sex of the fetus in the first trimester.
Advances in science and technology mean that Australians can now pass blood tests to know the sex of the child within 10 weeks of pregnancy. Blood tests can also detect chromosomal diseases, such as Down's syndrome. Others may know the sex of the fetus during a 12-week ultrasound.
Although ultrasound providers have different rules on whether to show the sex of the fetus at the time of the first scan, the Australasian Ultrasonic Physicians'(ASA) position is that they should not be involved in the debate on gender selection.
The association's chief executive, Judy Lang (Jodie Long), said that if ultrasound doctors were confident in identifying gender, they would provide information if asked.
"it's not up to ultrasound doctors to determine how parents handle this information," she said.
"most of the checks are made to determine if there are any exceptions. If parents are told there are exceptions, they will decide how to handle the information. Nor is it up to the ultrasound doctor to decide. "
Although the ratio of boys to girls born in Victoria is close to 105 per 100, the proportion of boys born to mothers emigrated from China and India is high, according to a study at La Trobe University.
For example, between 1999 and 2015, the proportion of boys and girls born to 8654 Chinese-born mothers at the time of the second birth was close to 111 per 100, compared with 114 per 100 for the third.
Lead researcher Dr. Christina Edvalson (Kristina Edvardsson) said: "We think that some women may terminate pregnancy if they find out they are pregnant with a girl," said Dr. Edvalson, a lead researcher. Others go overseas to receive non-medical gender selection services through assisted fertility. "
An experienced ultrasound doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believed the medical industry should consider disclosing the ethics and accuracy of the fetus's sex during early pregnancy scans, as parents could still "selectively terminate pregnancy" during that period.
In the past, a couple told them that if their children were girls, they would have abortions. According to hospital policy, the ultrasound doctor did not tell them the sex during the first scan, but they were shocked by the accident during the operation. They did not remember whether the couple had noticed whether the fetus was a boy or a girl.
"for a while, I was wondering what would happen to the baby."
Melbourne obstetrician Lisa (Lisa Hui) says she has heard of only one case of gender selection in her career, but most parents will realize that the practice is not allowed, so she will not ask a doctor.
"as professionals, it is difficult to know if this practice is widespread. I think it's worrisome and raises a possibility, but we don't have data on how fetal sex information is used, "she said.
However, the associate professor said she felt it reasonable not to disclose fetal sex information during the first 12-week scan, because there were few medical reasons to provide the information, and the scan did not necessarily reveal sex.
Authorities do not appear to be willing to make formal changes to the policy, advising doctors or ultrasound doctors not to speculate about the sex of the baby during the first scan or blood test.
But Professor Brendan Murphy (Brendan Murphy), Australia's chief medical officer, said: "for the vast majority of people who just want to know the sex of their children, it is also unreasonable for doctors to refuse to disclose the sex of the ultrasound test."
Professor Ian Orf (Ian Olver) shares the same view. He had been involved in drafting guidelines to ban gender selection through IVF in Australia.
"it's like you can't stop everyone from becoming a criminal," he said. "you can't stop those who desperately want to bypass the system. I don't think it's the fault of the system. I think society and the law are clearly opposed to any form of sexism. "