Boy or Girl? from 99% Accurate to Way Out Crazy Ways to Predict Your Baby's Gender

One of the most frequent questions you will hear during your pregnancy is definitely "Is it a boy or a girl?" and while there is a good percentage of pregnant parents who want to have a surprise when the baby is born, about 70% of expectant mothers want to know the sex of their unborn child.

Genetic testing and ultra sound scans

With the advent of genetic testing such as CVS (chronionic villus sampling) and amniocentesis, it is possible to determine (99% accuracy) the sex of your baby as early as the 10th week of gestation but since sticking a very long needle inside your pregnant belly carries a risk to your baby, these tests are often used for a specific search for genetic information, rather than simply to know the sex of a child.

An ultrasound scan after the 20^th week will tell you with relative accuracy the sex of a child. This method is by far the most common way of determining the baby's gender. If the baby happens to be in the right position, the chances that your technician will accurately predict your child's gender are very high. Though an ultrasound is totally safe and pain free for both mother and child, the big drawback of this method is that you will have to wait for 20 weeks until you discover the baby's sex and if you are as curious as I am, and want to find out the baby' sex as soon as you get a positive pregnancy test, waiting for 20 weeks will be torture, so here come the somewhat less conventional gender prediction tips.

Semi scientific methods

The most popular ( and tame) of these semi scientific method/ myth is the heart beat test. Basically if your doctor tells you that your baby's heart beat is on the high side,( over 140 -160), you are having a girl.

One of the craziest methods that I have heard so far reminds me of the experiments in Dexter's lab - The Drano test. Supposedly if you put a couple of tablespoons of crystal Drano in a glass jar and add two or three ounces of your morning urine to the crystals, there will be a chemical reaction that will turn the mixture to a murky brownish color if it is a boy. If there is no color change - it is a girl. To perform this test accurately you will have to wait for about 10 seconds until the reaction stops before you observe the color.

Sounds simple, right? Now, let's talk about the drawbacks

1. You are playing with a toxic mixture which will have a very foul smell and can be very harmful if you inhale the fumes or it gets in contact with your skin. So wear gloves and do the test in a well ventilated place.

2. You will have to dispose very carefully of the very foul caustic mixture. The best way would be to use a jar which is resealable (like a clean preserve jar) and once the test is finished reseal the jug and discard.

3. This method works best if you are over 4 months pregnant - not the ideal time to be hanging around foul smelling potentially harmful fumes.

4. Since the results are open to interpretation, this method is not very reliable.

Intelligender

If you can part from a hefty $34, you can use the only gender prediction test that I found on the market. This test also uses your morning urine which you will pour in the re- sealing container provided. Once the urine hits the crystals inside the container there will be a chemical reaction. You will then have to swirl the mixture around for some seconds, place the container on a flat surface for 10 minutes and then read the results. If the mixture turns orange, it's a girl, if it is gets a murky greenish, color it's a boy.

This test claims to be 90% accurate, (even though I have read reviews from mums you said it didn't work for them), and the good part is that you can try it as early as 10 weeks. Another good point for this test is that the company has a very user friendly website and a customer service line where you can direct any queries. The test is very simple to use, and you don't come in contact with any foul smelling potentially toxic concoction.

I have tried it - twice- but I still don't know if it has worked for me, since I haven't done the 20 week ultrasound scan yet.

Now let's delve into the unscientific fun part -

Common lore - from weird myths to mysterious gender charts buried in royal tombs

If you are going through your first pregnancy, be prepared for the most funny, sometimes shocking questions, you will hear in your life coming from people who are trying to do some good old gender prediction. I will cite below, the most memorable queries, relatives and acquaintances have asked me during my first pregnancy because some of them are crazy funny .

Do you often dream you are swimming? Do you have dry hands?(Dry hands mean you're having a girl) Do you have hair on your chest?( Supposedly growing hair on your breast means you're having a boy) Is your left boob bigger than the right one ?( I'll be banned from AC if I tell you the exact words I used when I answered this person) Do you have swollen feet? ... and last but not least.. Do you throw up a lot? Not one of them guessed I was having a boy!

The most common old wives tales try to predict the baby's sex by making guesses based on the changes on the mother's body. Most probably every expectant mother has heard someone tell her that if she is carrying low and has gathered a lot of weight on her hips and bottom, she will have a boy, or that if she has a sudden insurgence of acne or unrelenting morning sickness it is a girl, but few are those who would rush to paint their nursery blue or pink based on these methods.

Another fun method is the wedding ring pendulum placed on the mother's belly. Supposedly if you thread your wedding ring through a strand of hair and swing it on your pregnant belly. If it swings in a circle it's a girl, if it undulates from side to side, it's a boy. - This one did work for me!

The only myth that seems to have some accuracy, (some say that it is over 90% accurate) is the Chinese gender chart. It is rumored that this chart has been found in an ancient royal tomb near Beijing and though I have read several reviews saying that it just didn't work for them, there is no harm in trying it.

I hope you have found these tips about gender prediction fun and helpful. Have a happy pregnancy and Good Luck!

Works cited

Personal experience

Want to know the sex of your unborn baby by Robin Elise Weiss About.com

Intelligender prediction website