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Here are some old-wives tales about pregnancy.
By PopSugar — Last updated on Sep 17, 2023
By Kate Schweitzer
Sure, you can wait until your 20-week ultrasound for the sonogram technician to give you a near-definitive answer, or, if you are extremely patient, you can just sit tight until that baby enters the world and reveals himself or herself once and for all. But if you're one of those moms-to-be who can't handle the suspense, you're in luck.
Well, not really.
There are plenty of ways to scientifically determine the sex of your baby — like genetic blood tests and amniocentesis — but if you'd rather opt for a less-invasive (and far less reliable) method, here are a handful of ways people have been using to predict whether it's a boy or girl for decades, sometimes centuries.
Here are 12 kinda weird ways to tell if you're having a boy or a girl:
1. Fetal heart rate
The next time your doctor listens to your baby's heartbeat, ask for specifics. Allegedly, if the fetal heart rate is more than 140 beats per minute, it's a girl; less than 140 beats per minute, a boy.
2. Morning sickness
Somewhere along the way, people began to assume that if you suffered through bouts of nausea in your first trimester, you were more likely to have a girl than if you had an easy, vomit-free pregnancy.
3. Your grocery list
If you're craving ice cream, you're having a girl. Pickles? A boy. Because girls are stereotypically "sugar and spice and everything nice," legend has it that eating sweets means you're having one, but opting for savory, salty dishes is a sign you've got a boy baking.
4. Your bump
You can apparently tell a lot by the way you carry your baby bump. If you're carrying high and on the sides, it's allegedly bound to be a girl. If you're carrying low or if it looks to be a perfectly round, ball-like bump, it's most certainly a boy.
5. The key test
Although it's hard to accurately test this on yourself once you know the outcomes, the idea is that you set a key in front of you, and if you pick it up by its top — the wide, rounded part — you're going to have a girl. If you naturally pick it up by the narrow end, it's a boy.
6. The pee test
Your days of inspecting your urine aren't over yet! Some say the color of your pee can be an indicator of your baby's sex, with bright yellow urine for a boy and dull yellow urine for a girl.
7. Acne alert
It's by far the cruelest trick, especially if someone calls you out on it, but if you're breaking out in zits or aren't really exhibiting that gorgeous pregnancy glow, you might be able to blame it on an eventual daughter. According to legend, girls steal their mother's beauty.
8. Ring on a string
If you're married, pop off your wedding ring and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly, and see what happens. If it swings in a circle, you're having a boy, but if it sways back and forth, it's a girl.
9. Conception equation
Loosely based on an ancient Chinese gender chart, which was created more than 700 years ago before being buried in a tomb, it's as simple as basic math. If your age at the time of conception plus the number of the month in which you conceived is even, it's a boy. If it's odd, it's a girl.
10. How you wake up
Sleep is a tricky subject for any pregnant woman, but one myth attests that if you always seem to wake up on your left side, it's a girl, and if you find yourself sleeping on your right side more often, it's a boy.
11. Palm reading
No, you don't have to go find a fortune teller — all you need to do is look down at your hands. Are they dry and cracked? Some say that means a boy is on the way. If your palms are soft and supple, you might be having a girl.
12. Your cup size
No two breasts are created equal, certainly not with all the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy. To that end, a generations-old method for determining the sex of the baby is by breast size! If your left breast feels larger, it's a boy. If the right is heftier, you've got a girl.
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Kate Schweitzer is a freelance writer, editor, and content strategist. She's been featured in Arcbound, Huffington Post, New York Magazine and more.
This article was originally published at PopSugar. Reprinted with permission from the author.