Gender Prediction Myths

IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?

The minute I got pregnant I wanted to know whether or not I was having a boy or a girl. I searched the internet to the world's end and came across nothing that truly answered my questions, nor did anything truly make sense.

All throughout history, people have been attempting to put together ways to predict the sex of the baby in the womb. Back when people did not have the same technology as now, people would use all types of practices to try to predict the sex.

Wrong or right, you have a 50/50 chance of being correct. Which is a very large chance...basically flipping a coin. Unless you believe in that silly wedding ring swinging thing.

Here are some of the myths of sex prediction in pregnancy:

You're more likely to be carrying a boy if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is lower than 140 beats per minute
• you're carrying all out front
• you're carrying low
• you're blooming in pregnancy
• you didn't suffer from morning sickness in your first trimester
• your right breast is bigger than your left
• you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute and your pupils dilate
• you crave salty food or protein, such as cheese and meat
• your feet become cold more quickly than before you were pregnant
• you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it moves in circles
• your skin becomes dry
• you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is even
• your hair has become more full-bodied and shiny during pregnancy
• the hair on your legs has been growing faster during pregnancy
• you are more prone to headaches
• your pillow faces north when you sleep
• you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms down
• you lie on your left side when sleeping
• your urine is bright yellow
• you were the more aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived
• you eat a clove of garlic and the smell seeps out of your pores
• your previous child's first word was "dada".

You're more likely to be having a girl if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is faster than 140 beats per minute
• you're carrying all round
• you're carrying high
• you've missed the "blooming" period altogether
• you suffered morning sickness during your first twelve weeks
• your left breast is bigger than your right
• you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute, but your pupils don't dilate
• you crave sweet things, such as juice, fruit and sweets
• you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it swings from side to side
• your skin is soft
• you are more moody than usual
• you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms up
• you were the less aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived
• you eat a clove of garlic, but you don't smell of it
• you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is odd
• your hair has become thinner and dull during pregnancy
• you lie on your right side when sleeping
• your pillow faces south when you sleep
• your urine is dull yellow
• your previous child's first word was "mama".

You would really have to be a silly goose to believe these. I am having a boy and I crave sweets, I sleep on whatever side I feel like sleeping on, I had morning sickness during my first trimester.

Then there is the Chinese Calendar which predicted that I would be having a girl. People swear by this calendar too. I have heard so many stories of people predicting the sex of their babies with this calendar, not understanding that the calendar is working on a very close form of 50/50 chance which makes it hard to believe that it has a 90% success rate as the chart states. The chart is based on 81 boy squares to 87 girl squares which is close to perfectly half of 168 which is how many boxes there are in total. Then compared to 14 ages and 12 months...randomly spread out colors referring to boy or girl...umm...where is the relevance? How could such a percentage even be stated? That is just silly!

It could only be one or the other...so there is the same chance of being wrong as there is of being correct. You might as well flip a coin, you would have the same chance of being correct.

As legend would have it, the Chinese Gender Chart was buried in a royal tomb over 700 years ago. Recently discovered, the chart has been used to predict the gender of an unborn child based on the mother's age and month of conception.

Simply find the age of the mother at the time of conception on the chart below and then follow across to the month the baby was conceived to find the predicted gender. Although this chart is said to have a success rate of over 90 percent, keep in mind that this is solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Another silly myth I heard about pregnancy is that your partner will gain weight due to your hormones. So, now pregnancy is contagious? This myth is ridiculous. The only way that your partner would gain weight due to your pregnancy is if the pregnancy directly affects and changes your partners lifestyle. If your partner stays home from work to take care of you, eats more because of you, and just stays on the couch lounging around with you, yes he will gain weight. Anyone would with a change like that in their lifestyle. If your partner continues to take care of themselves, does not change their schedule drastically and stays active...they will not change. It is all relative. Since I've become pregnant, Jerrid has lost weight because he is active all day, he takes care of me, he does not just lounge around all day and eat. Pregnancy is not contagious.

It is fun to try to predict your baby's sex and read all the silly myths, but don't take these myths as fact. They are fun but are not 100% accurate. Most of them were incorrect for me, and may have been correct for others. In no way should someone assume these are factual. The only TRUE way to find out the gender of your baby and whether your baby is healthy is through an ultrasound or another medical screening tests.

Have fun and stay safe!!