A mother was furious when her gender-reveal party was "ruined" after a sonographer "blurted out" her foetus was a boy during a scan hours before the celebration.
Michelle Hughes, 33, says she spent weeks planning the party during which she, friends and family would find out the gender of her baby.
But the woman, who is 17 weeks pregnant, was left devastated after the sonographer's blunder, reports Bristol Live.
“It devastated me. She kept saying sorry but that’s not the point. It really broke my heart," Michelle said today.
“We had a banner set up in the garden, with balloons and ribbons. I had to go home and lie to my 11-year-old boy Archie and my whole family, pretending I was finding out at the same time as them."
Michelle, who has two other children, had paid £59 for a foetal health scan at the Window to the Womb clinic in Bedminster area of Bristol.
She used the service before the gender-reveal of her last child, 15-month-old Alfie, and she says things “all went smoothly” on that occasion.
When Michelle and her partner Wayne Hepper visited Window to the Womb on May 14, she asked the sonographer to place the information about her baby’s gender in an envelope.
The mother, of St George, Bristol, said: “We had been looking forward to the party for weeks. I’d even bought little scratch-cards so we could scratch them away to reveal the gender.
“When I went in to see the sonographer, I told her we were having a party later and I didn’t want to know the gender yet.
“She said she’d tell me when to look away from the screen so I wouldn’t know. Then she just blurted out, ‘It’s a boy.’”
Michelle says the sonographer then told her: “Oh I’m so sorry. I was just excited for you.”
But the mum was so upset she had to leave the building.
Asked what she said to staff, Michelle replied: “I swore on my way out. I muttered ‘stupid b****’ as I was crying and in tears. Of course I was upset.”
Michelle, who claims she did not swear “directly at anyone”, eventually composed herself enough to re-enter the clinic and collect the envelope.
She said: “They couldn’t be more apologetic but that’s not the point. It ruined our day.
“I came out of there with belly pains, it was so stressful. I cried all the way home. It should have been a happy time.”
She returned home with her partner for the party, with Archie awaiting the result and around 12 friends and family members also expecting to find out on a Facetime call.
She said: “My friend Shelley knew something was wrong as soon as she saw my face. I said I’d tell her later because I wanted it to be special for Archie.
“I tried to pretend. I opened the envelope and there was a piece of paper inside. I can’t remember what was on it but it didn’t have the gender.
“My partner’s mum then had to speak to the clinic on the phone to find out the sex of the baby. Then I pretended like it was all a surprise.
“I had to come clean with Archie a couple of days later. He was asking questions because he knew something wasn’t right. He was heartbroken himself.
“He knew it wasn’t my fault. We’ve been cheated of the moment. The whole family’s been cheated.”
Michelle says she was so distressed because excitement for the party had “kept [her] going” for weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.
She added: “I’m still breastfeeding my one-year-old. It’s such a stressful time.
“Of course I’m happy that I’ll be having a boy and he’s healthy, but that’s not the point – it was something to look forward to as a family.”
Now Michelle knows the baby is a boy, she intends to call him Arnie.
Window to the Womb says it was not offering gender scans at the time but instead offering to tell parents the sex of the foetus if it could be identified during the health scan.
It will be taking bookings for gender scans from June 1, provided the Government’s coronavirus guidance does not change.
A Window to the Womb spokeswoman said: “We are very sorry that we told Michelle the gender of her baby rather than place this information into an envelope for her to find out later at a family party.
“We immediately refunded the scan value in full and provided a free £25 bear by way of an apology.
“This was a human error by our sonographer who apologised unreservedly at the time. We have zero tolerance against verbal abuse.
“Our staff have the right to work with dignity and respect, even more so as they have continued to work on the frontline putting their families and themselves at risk throughout the pandemic.”
Michelle admits swearing because of her distress, but denies any verbal abuse.
