The Department of Health yesterday defended the minority of NHS hospitals that still refuse to tell expectant mothers the sex of their unborn child when the information becomes available during a routine ultrasound scan.
In spite of the government's drive to give more choice to users of the health service, ministers have decided not to intervene against trusts that prefer to keep pregnant woman in the dark.
The problem came to light after a north London couple were denied information about the sex of their baby after a foetal scan at Chase Farm hospital in Enfield. When they complained, they were told by Averil Dongworth, the chief executive, that it was often not easy to determine gender and a 20-minute scanning session would have to be extended to provide such information. This would be costly.
She said: "Attempts to assign gender by ultrasound are only 95% accurate and the trust is concerned about disappointment, complaints or litigation if gender is wrongly assigned."
A trust spokesman said later that fear of being sued by parents who spent money preparing for a child of the wrong gender was not the main reason for the policy.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said guidance allowed hospitals to tell parents the gender of their child at a 20-week scan, but did not require them to.
Nicholas Fisk, professor of foetal medicine at Imperial College London, said: "The vast majority of obstetric ultrasound services will inform parents of the sex at the time of a routine scan at 20 weeks. Five years ago 75% of parents wanted to know, but the proportion has fallen to 50%."
Hospitals were wrong to claim that gender could not be determined within a 20-minute session. Except in about 3% of cases, the sex was obvious at 20 weeks and the specialist could inform the parents during the session at no extra cost.
Allegations that hospitals withheld information for fear that parents from some ethnic minority groups might abort foetuses of the "wrong" sex were wide of the mark. Ultrasound scans at 20 weeks provided information too late for a standard termination.
A spokesman for Chase Farm hospital said all its neighbouring hospitals in north London followed the same policy of non-disclosure.
The Department of Health said: "The main purpose of an ultrasound scan is to date a foetus and check for abnormality. It is not for telling people the sex of their child."
When pressed on why the department's policy of choice did not extend to this area, a spokeswoman said: "There are no national guidelines. Decisions about the provision of maternity services is the responsibility of local NHS trusts. It is up to the trust to decide whether to let parents know the sex of their baby."
