When I was pregnant, I tried every single one of them in both of my pregnancies. The ring test, the Chinese calendar, the heartbeat theory. All this. Both times, I was convinced I was having a girl. (Spoiler: I have two boys.) So take all of this with a huge grain of salt and enjoy it for what it is.
That said, there is something deeply human about wanting to learn. Before ultrasounds and NIPT tests, this was all people had. (I wonder if the crops would fail or survive the winter. Good old days, baby!)
Here’s a full rundown of the most popular old wives’ tales, what they claim, and whether any of them hold up.
Bump shape & size
The fairy tale: Carry low and out front like a basketball? Boy. Do you carry high or spread wide? Girl.
This is probably what the office manager, Barb, will announce the second she sees your belly. The problem is, how you carry has a lot more to do with your core strength, body shape, and your baby’s position than sex. First-time mothers tend to carry higher because their abdominal muscles are tighter. So this is really just a fun conversation starter.
Morning sickness
The fairy tale: Brutal nausea and vomiting = girl. Sailing in first trimester = boy.
There it is Some evidence that hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness) is slightly more common in pregnancies carrying girls, possibly linked to higher hCG levels. But many people have easy pregnancies with girls and lousy pregnancies with boys. If you’re in the grass right now, I’m sorry, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything about who’s in there.
Heart rate
The fairy tale: Baby’s heart rate over 140 bpm = girl. Below 140 bpm = boy.
This comes up at almost every prenatal appointment. Fetal heart rate varies, but is more affected by how active the baby is and how far along you are than gender. A 2006 study published in Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment found no significant difference in heart rates between male and female fetuses during the first trimester. Still fun to watch though.
Longing
The fairy tale: Reaching for ice cream and chocolate? Girl. Can’t stop thinking about burgers and chips? Boy.
I craved salt and vinegar chips incessantly in both pregnancies, so clearly the “salty = boy” myth had something in my case, but that’s anecdotal, not fact. Cravings are likely driven by nutritional needs, hormones, and whatever sounds good when everything else makes you nauseous.
Skin & hair changes
The fairy tale: Glowing skin = boy. Breakouts, dull skin or thinning hair = girl (because it “steals your beauty”).
First of all, I find the idea of a daughter stealing your beauty extremely rude. It’s always like a salty mother-in-law thought it up. Second, skin changes during pregnancy are due to hormonal changes that occur regardless of the sex of the baby. That said, some research suggests that girls may be associated with slightly higher estrogen levels, which could they affect the skin, but the “glow” or lack thereof is really just pregnancy taking its toll.
Gut feeling
The fairy tale: You just have that instinct that you know what you have.
Some studies have suggested that mothers’ intuition about their baby’s gender is correct about 70% of the time, which is better than luck. Whether this is biology, unconscious cue reading, or just a good guess remains unclear. But if you have a strong feeling, it’s worth paying attention to. I was convinced both times, and correctly only once, so your mileage may vary.
The ring or pendulum test
The fairy tale: Hang your wedding ring (or a needle) on a piece of string above your belly button. Circles = girl. Back and forth = boy. (This varies by tradition, so don’t @ me.)
This is pure fun. There’s no science behind it, but it’s a baby shower staple and a great way to get everyone involved. (I think it works best with a slightly drunk aunt.) The movement is probably caused by unconscious micro-movements in your hand – called the ideokine phenomenon – not mystical forces.
The Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar
The fairy tale: Using the mother’s lunar age at conception and lunar month of conception, a chart predicts a boy or a girl. Up to 93% accuracy is claimed in some versions.
This has been around for centuries and is really fascinating from a cultural history point of view. Studies testing its accuracy have found it to be about 50/50. So basically a coin flip. It’s still fun.
Affiliate Indicators
The fairy tale: If your partner is gaining weight with you, you’re having a girl.
This is rooted in a real-life phenomenon called couvade syndrome, where partners experience sympathetic pregnancy symptoms such as weight gain, nausea and mood swings. It’s exciting, but it has nothing to do with the gender of the baby. Just a very emotionally invested partner (bless them).
The Math-based Tales
The fairy tale: The Mayan method looks at the mother’s age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or both are odd, girl. One of each, my boy. There are also various tricks for adding numbers floating around the internet.
These are essentially numerology applied to pregnancy, which means it’s exactly as accurate as you’d expect. But it’s really fun to count on a gender reveal party, so here we are.
The curious ones
(Garlic test, key test and other oddities) Eat garlic and if the smell seeps into your pores, it’s a boy. Pick up a key from the narrow end and it’s a girl, the round end and it’s a boy.
I’m including them purely because they’re wonderfully detached. There is no logic, no science, no direct line, just generations of people looking at a key and thinking that will tell me something.
So What Does the Science Say?
Most of these stories run right around 50/50. Which makes sense because there hectare only two options.
The methods with the most legitimate scientific discussion behind them are:
- Severity of morning sickness (some weak association with female pregnancies)
- Maternal intuition (surprisingly decent track record in some studies)
- Fetal heart rate (varies but not reliably by gender)
If you really want to know before birth, your real options are:
- NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing): It can detect fetal sex from around 10 weeks through a blood test
- Anatomy ultrasound: It is usually done around 18 – 20 weeks
- Amniocentesis or CVS: More invasive, usually done for medical reasons
The bottom line
These old wives tales have been passed down generations and generations because pregnancy makes us curious, impatient, and a little cautious, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Have fun with them. Just don’t paint kindergarten based on the ring test.
Did any of this work for you? Write your experience in the comments. I’d love to know which stories were right (or spectacularly wrong).
See also: What color eyes will my baby have? Baby Eye Color Predictor
