Being an ultrasound technician for an OB/GYN is a pretty incredible job. Not only do you get to watch life forming each and every day, but you also get to deliver happy news to parents who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby.
That said, the job also comes with a tremendous responsibility. And as one ultrasound tech recently admitted in a viral video, she's accidentally "slipped" a few times, announcing a baby's gender in cases where the parents wanted to be surprised. (Oops.)
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The original clip was shared by OB/GYN sonographer Emily Boggs (@emilyy_boggs)
It was later shared by the Instagram account @maternitypage, where it quickly took off.
"When my patient has told me 5 times they don’t wanna know the gender and I say 'awww he’s so cute … '" the video text reads.
Seconds later, Boggs is seen jokingly wrapping the cord of the ultrasound wand around her neck in embarrassment.
A lot of people have since chimed in in the comments
Some offered a few ideas for how to rectify the situation.
"Start saying 'she,' so it's confusing," one person suggested.
"Just keep making more comments after that switching the gender back and forth," another advised. "'He's so cute, you're gonna love her.'"
Others suggested using the more gender-neutral term, 'they'
"Honestly, why can't we just call babies 'it' or 'they' as standard in these cases just to be safe," one mom asked. "I'm cool with my (potential) baby being an 'it' until it's born. Don't want a party, but I would like to have the surprise at birth."
But as some people pointed out, using the term "they" could make the parents-to-be think they're having multiples.
"My nurse would say 'they' so she didn’t reveal it," one person shared. "I remember saying 'WTF you mean THEY?' at my first ultrasound appointment. We all died from laughter."
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A few people actually said they had this happen to them
"I wanted a surprise and I told the ultrasound tech several times at my 32 week we didn’t want to know the gender," one mom shared. "The last few minutes of the ultrasound he said, 'Well, he looks great!' And I looked at my boyfriend and was pissed."
"This happened to me!!!!!" another mom chimed in. "To be honest, I felt worse for the tech than I did for myself! Because I was going to find out either way, but that poor girl had to live the rest of the day knowing she made a mistake. I felt so bad."
While many people had compassion for the tech, others got pretty testy
"Definitely not funny," one mom declared. "I had this happen and had to keep myself from smacking the student. Like she knew I was having a gender reveal. I filed a complaint."
In response to all the hate, a lot of people jumped in to defend the tech.
"The comments ain't it," one person wrote. "Please be nicer to the overworked workers that are making sure you and your baby are healthy and alive."
"Lots of salty people," added another mom. "Be grateful you are having a healthy baby. In the end that’s all that matters."
At the same time, other Instagram users pointed out how "obsessed" with gender reveals people have become these days.
"Just enjoy the pregnancy and be happy that your baby is healthy no matter the gender," one person wrote. "The medical staff are overworked, underpaid, under-appreciated and patients are getting only more rude each day. Mistakes can happen."
