How to Predict Your Baby’s Gender

In case you are interested to find your baby's gender accurately, then you will have to consult your gynaecologist. There are a few tests that your doctor can undertake to determine your baby’s gender. These methods, though highly accurate are not 100 percent.

These days, there are plenty of high-tech ways to predict baby gender, but it's still loads of fun to use the low-tech ways though they are not so accurate. 

Predicting Baby Gender the Low-Tech Way

If you do not wish to get involved in tests, you can certainly have fun experimenting with the many old wives’ tales that focus on baby gender prediction. These techniques are fun for family gatherings and each has a 50-50 chance of being correct.

The most common methods of knowing the gender of your child using the folklore-inspired, gender-prediction tests are given below.

•  Belly bulge. This is one of the most popular prediction method. In this, if you are carrying the baby low and just in the front it is a boy and if your pregnancy belly is higher, and more around your middle, you are going to have a girl.

• Baby’s heart rate. An old wives’ tale says that if the baby’s heart rate is below 140 beats per minute, it is a boy and if it is more, then you are having a girl.

• Soft or dry skin. Myth has it that if your hands are dry most of the time then you are likely to have a boy but if your hands are soft, a girl is on its way.

• Beautiful or dull hair. If your hair appears dull after becoming pregnant, you may be having a girl. However, if your hair has never been better, myth says that you are having a boy.

• Pregnancy Acne. If your complexion has become poorer since you conceived, then it is said that there is a baby girl who is stealing all your beauty.

• Dad’s Weight. Old wives’ tales say that if the would-be-dad’s weigh is also increasing along with you, then you are having a girl but if dad’s weight is the same, then it is a boy.

• Baking Soda Test. Take baking soda and mix two tablespoons of it with your urine. The myth has it that if it fizzes – you are having a boy, and a girl if the mixture remains flat.

• Swollen legs. If your pregnancy legs are big and swollen, a boy might be on the way. If your legs are just as lean as they were before pregnancy, myth says that you are having a girl.

• Chinese birth calendar. The Chinese gender chart is quite famous for predicting the baby’s gender amongst the low-tech ways. It is said that the chart was invented during the Qing Dynasty. It is proved that the accuracy of this chart is approx 70%, which is much higher than other free gender prediction tools online https://www.yourchineseastrology.com. The Chinese birth chart is based on two elements: the mother-to-be's lunar conception month and Chinese lunar age when the baby is conceived. If you are pregnant, you could easily find out if you are carrying a boy or girl with the help of the gender prediction calculation tool. Many charts are available online https://www.thebump.com/chinese-gender-chart. These charts can be an amusing way to guess whether your little bundle of joy will be a boy or a girl. But since they are not based on science, you should only use them for fun. 

Several studies have linked various pregnancy symptoms mentioned above and other factors to predict baby's sex.

Predicting Baby using ‘Baby-Gender Prediction’ Kits

If you know that you are not going to take the high-tech way but simply want to find what you are going to have, gender prediction kits are available in the market to predict your baby's sex, although they are not very accurate. You can check online and find ‘home baby gender prediction kits that claim to provide results with an accuracy rate of anywhere from 80 to 90 percent and as early as the first trimester. Some of those kits require you to pee into a cup, while others ask you for a blood sample. Both these kits predict the gender of the baby  based on the amount of testosterone in your urine or the presence or absence of male-specific DNA in your blood.

These gender prediction kits are another way to predict your baby's sex but they are not particularly accurate. Another drawback of these kits is the cost. The blood-sample tests can cost you a few hundred dollars, while the urine-based tests can set you back by $40 a kit.

Predicting Baby Gender the High-Tech Way

Some details of the high tech ways to predict the baby’s gender are given below:

• Non-invasive pre-natal testing (NIPT).  In this test, you can know the sex of your baby through a simple blood test as early as nine weeks into our pregnancy. Studies show it to be more than 99 percent accurate. In addition, it also offers a rundown of a baby's risk of chromosomal abnormalities.

• Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), and amniocentesis.Both these tests are invasive diagnostic procedures to detect chromosomal abnormalities and are generally reserved for high-risk pregnancies. However, they can tell the baby’s gender with 100 percent accuracy.  These tests are conducted between 10 to 13^th week of pregnancy for CVS and between 16 to 18 weeks for amnio. Again, these tests are not recommended for parents who are just curious to know about their baby’s gender as they are invasive, which increases the risk of miscarriage.

• Ultrasound.It is a non-invasive test but not as accurate as CVS or amniocentesis and is done between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy.

The Final Word. Whether you end up going with a high-tech method to predict your baby’s gender, an old wives’ tale, or you find out the old-fashioned way in the delivery room, you will fall in love with that baby in your arms no matter what.

 So go ahead and enjoy the guessing game.