Oh, Brother! (Oops, I Mean Sister...)

I always worry a little bit when a mom-to-be gets her heart too set on her baby being a specific gender. Do I understand wanting a girl or wanting a boy? Sure. But it simply isn't healthy to be devastated if your little bundle of joy ends up needing pink blankets instead of blue.

Which doesn't mean I don't want to find out the sex of a baby before he or she is born. As it is a surprise no matter when you find out, I think it's nice to know what you are having in advance (it's a gorilla!) so you can be prepared with with a name and the right clothing. But, as ultrasounds have been known to be wrong, if I was expecting an ultrasound-certified girl and had a little boy instead (which very thing happened to my sister) I would be far from upset. I would be thrilled just to have had a healthy baby.

But apparently, some New York City mothers disagree with me. Specifically, six of them. These ladies are suing the maker of an at-home gender prediction kit, said to be accurate at predicting a baby's gender at as early as eight weeks of gestation. Though I have heard of these sorts of tests being in development, I have to think that if there really were an accurate test available (not just in the trial phase) it would be recommended or used by doctor's offices, or that it would have some other sort of legitimate backing.

But that didn't stop these six moms from sending in for the test and believing the results. Until they gave birth and their children turned out to be the opposite of what they were expecting, that is. They were devastated. So devastated, in fact, that they are suing the maker of the tests for negligence and fraud (and causing them emotional distress and trauma over expecting Danielle and ending up with Daniel instead).

I'm sorry, but anyone who is dumb enough to send away for a $275 test her doctor has never heard of deserves what she gets. Do these women not have the patience to wait for the ultrasound (which is not 100% accurate at predicting gender, either, by the way)? Or the birth? Would they have aborted their children if they had known they were really having a boy? Or a girl?

I understand the convenience of knowing what you are having in advance, but is this really worth suing over? How are the kids going to feel when they find out their mothers sued somebody because they turned out to be the wrong sex?

For heaven's sake, this is so petty. Even ultrasounds can be wrong. There is no guarantee of a specific outcome when you have a baby, even with testing and screening and the thousand other pokings and proddings that are part of pregnancy. These women should just be grateful to have had healthy babies.

And next time they shouldn't be so dumb as to fork over $275 for a test that has scam written all over it. Next thing you know they'll be suing companies who sell instant weight loss pills or enhance-your-cup-size liqui-gels.

But, if they do sue for those things, at least that might get all those annoying commercials off my television. In which case, sue away!