Parents Sue Makers of Baby Gender Predicting Kit
Categories: Pregnancy & Birth, In The News
Parents are eager to know the gender of their unborn baby. Photo: doriana_s/sxc.hu
But as six New York mothers learned, predicting a baby's gender isn't an exact science. The mothers are suing Acu-Gen Biolab -- makers of the Baby Gender Mentor Kit -- for refusing to refund their money after inaccurately predicting their babies' gender. They say Acu-Gen promised 99 percent accuracy and a 200 percent refund, but lived up to neither promise.
The damage, they say, goes far deeper than money. One couple split up after the boy they were expecting turned out to be a girl. Others had nurseries, toys and clothing in all the wrong colors. "You may get somebody that laughs it off, like, 'Okay, we're having a boy named George and now it will be Georgina,'" lawyer Barry Gainey tells the Daily News. "For others, it can be a lot to go through."
Would you believe a blood test that claimed to predict your baby's gender? I'm not sure I would. Even an ultrasound tech won't claim to be 100 percent sure when she's looking at your baby on a screen. A neighbor of mine did IVF to ensure she'd have a daughter after her fifth boy was born. Three different ultrasound techs told her she was having a girl, but on her due date she welcomed her sixth son.
These women deserve their 200 percent refund, and Acu-Gen needs to rethink their claims of 99 percent accuracy. But I think that expecting parents need to cool their heels a little. Just like a gift that's marked, "Do not open until Christmas," some babies just don't reveal themselves until they've arrived.
Did you find out your baby's gender before he or she was born? Did you trust the results? And were you surprised -- or disappointed -- by the gender of your baby?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Beth SG 6-23-2009 @ 3:35PM
We found out at 17 weeks that we were having a girl, but at each subsequent ultrasound (it was a high-risk pregnancy, so there were lots) I asked, "She's still a girl, right?" just to be sure.
When she was born, we were all so certain that there was no "It's a girl!" announcement, but when I saw her little parts, as the midwife was clamping her cord, I did think, "Oh good, she really is a girl!"
And then she peed on me.
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Anita 6-23-2009 @ 7:26PM
I also found out I was having a girl at the 20 week u/s but since it was the only one we had done, I did not fully believe it. So when she was born and the midwife confirmed she was a girl, I was thrilled. All along we had two names picked out and a gender neutral nursery just in case (but mostly girl clothes).
No way would I leave my husband or sue somebody for getting the sex wrong. That is part of the deal with having a baby.
Karen 6-23-2009 @ 5:59PM
If the company offered a 200% refund then that is all they are due.
People aren't do additional monies because they forgot the motto BUYER BEWARE
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kim 6-24-2009 @ 9:07AM
"..One couple split up after the boy they were expecting turned out to be a girl."
Are you kidding? A couple actually divorced because their baby wasn't the gender they were planning on??? I know plenty of people who would give anything just to have a healthy child. Or any child, for that matter.
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Lauren 6-24-2009 @ 1:10AM
Maybe people should get over themselves, just be patient, and wait to have their stupid ultrasound, either way you're having a kid. Does it really matter what the gender is?
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Liz 6-24-2009 @ 3:27AM
While I do agree the parents are due their 200% refund as promised by the company, they also need to relax a little. I've never heard of anything so silly as a couple splitting up due to the stress of a baby not being the gender expected!
We were lucky as we had a 4-D ultrasound done and our daughter was clearly trying to show us she was a girl! Well, I think lucky, my husband said he could have done without that particular view!!
It was fun to know ahead of time so we could start calling her by her name before she was born, but tbh, I know so many people who waited and were just as happy as us.
It's the fact it's a baby - not what gender it is - that people should be happy about.
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Erinn 6-26-2009 @ 10:56AM
I would guess this product was sold in India or China were gender based abortion is popular. I would be willing to also bet that the mother wanted to keep girl while the father felt differently. They were most likely past the point of abortion...or early abotion. Products like this need to be taken off the market to cultures like this.
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