There are many different old wives' tales when it comes to baby gender prediction. Most of the baby myths started many years ago when women didn't regularly have ultrasounds done, so people had to guess at what the sex of the baby was. There are some people who still swear by these baby old wives' tales today, so are there any truths to these tales?
Predicting a Baby's Gender by the Heartbeat
A very popular gender prediction tale is predicting the baby's sex by the baby's heart rate. If the heartbeat is 140 or higher, than it is assumed that the woman is having a girl, while it's said to be a boy if the heartbeat is under 140.
There may be some truth behind this old wives' tale but it certainly is not 100 percent accurate. The belief behind this tale is that women have higher metabolic rates when compared to men. Thus, women have a faster heartbeat, even when they are babies. Although most people like to believe in this myth, a baby's heart rate is not affected by his or her gender until the baby is born. Also, as babies near their full gestational age, their heartbeats will continue to decline whether they are a boy or girl.
Baby Gender Prediction by the Way a Woman is Carrying the Baby
Most women who have been pregnant have heard someone tell them they are carrying a boy or a girl based on the way their belly looks. The old wives' tale that is most common says that if a woman is carrying her baby low and she is "all belly," the baby is most likely a boy, while a woman who gets wider and is carrying high is most likely having a girl.
So, is there any truth behind this baby gender prediction myth? Absolutely not! The way a woman carries depends on quite a few different factors but none of them have to do with the sex of the baby. It all depends on the woman's body shape, how much weight she gains, where the placenta attaches to the uterus, the shape of the woman's uterus and how heavy the woman was before she got pregnant. This is definitely one old wives' tale that is purely a myth.
Predicting a Baby's Gender by the Way a Woman's Appearance Changes
There are a few different baby old wives' tales when it comes to how a pregnant woman's appearance changes when she is pregnant. According to the tales, indicators that a woman is having a girl include acne breakouts, a much larger chest, a rounder face, and the woman overall looks worse than before she got pregnant. Indicators that a woman is having a boy include healthy looking skin, a chest that stays relatively the same size, a widening nose, and hair that grows faster on her legs than before.
Medically, there are absolutely no facts behind these old wives' tales. They are simply myths that have been followed throughout the years. These are probably the least favorite myths that pregnant woman have. No pregnant woman likes to be analyzed for her looks, especially since they have no bearing on what gender her baby will be.
Popular old wives' tales have become nothing more than baby gender prediction fun. People have a 50/50 chance that these tales will be true, but the only real way to know a baby's sex for sure is when the baby is born.
Source:
Babycenter.com (accessed 6/23/10)
Tiffany Brunskole - Tiffany is a freelance writer and web marketer. She has over three years of experience writing quality content for the web. She spends ...
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