1. The fetal heart rate can tell me the gender of my baby right? At least once a week I have a patient ask “since the heart beat is more than 140 it must be a girl.” And of course my response is well 50% of the time it will be a girl. Multiple studies around 18 weeks’ gestation have shown that there is unfortunately no correlation between fetal heart rate and the gender of the baby. We do notice that the fetal heart rate between 6 and 13 weeks is usually at or above 160 and then normalizes to 120-160 thereafter. So while this is a popular question in gender prediction quizzes, there is really no correlation between the gender and the fetal heart rate.
2. Everyone thinks I’m having a boy because my belly looks like a basketball or everyone thinks I’m having a girl because my belly looks like a watermelon. This idea that the shape and height of your belly can indicate your baby’s sex just isn’t true. While most people think carrying a pregnancy high is indicative of a girl and carrying it low means it must be a boy, the way you carry is really determined by other factors. The shape and height of your belly is really determined by your muscle tone, position of the baby and most importantly your uterine tone. For most women they will carry their first pregnancy higher and subsequent pregnancies lower as their muscle and uterine tone has been affected by previous pregnancies.
3. Since your morning sickness is so bad you must be having a girl. One popular pregnancy myth is that if a woman has severe morning sickness then there is a higher chance that she is having a girl. The reasoning is that pregnancy hormones tend to be higher when having a girl. Several studies did find that women who required hospitalization for severe nausea/vomiting in pregnancy had a slightly higher chance of having a girl. However, my bet would still be on the ultrasound in determining gender.
4. If you crave sweets you’re having a girl! If you crave salty foods you’re having a boy! Most women experience food cravings during their pregnancy. While these cravings are most likely the result of hormonal and metabolic changes that take place while pregnant, some believe that the baby’s gender can be determined based on the types of craving a woman is having. Unfortunately, there is no correlation between pregnancy cravings and gender but it is still a lot of fun to take the gender prediction quizzes online and keep friends and family guessing until the results of the ultrasound are back!
Pam
2. Everyone thinks I’m having a boy because my belly looks like a basketball or everyone thinks I’m having a girl because my belly looks like a watermelon. This idea that the shape and height of your belly can indicate your baby’s sex just isn’t true. While most people think carrying a pregnancy high is indicative of a girl and carrying it low means it must be a boy, the way you carry is really determined by other factors. The shape and height of your belly is really determined by your muscle tone, position of the baby and most importantly your uterine tone. For most women they will carry their first pregnancy higher and subsequent pregnancies lower as their muscle and uterine tone has been affected by previous pregnancies.
3. Since your morning sickness is so bad you must be having a girl. One popular pregnancy myth is that if a woman has severe morning sickness then there is a higher chance that she is having a girl. The reasoning is that pregnancy hormones tend to be higher when having a girl. Several studies did find that women who required hospitalization for severe nausea/vomiting in pregnancy had a slightly higher chance of having a girl. However, my bet would still be on the ultrasound in determining gender.
4. If you crave sweets you’re having a girl! If you crave salty foods you’re having a boy! Most women experience food cravings during their pregnancy. While these cravings are most likely the result of hormonal and metabolic changes that take place while pregnant, some believe that the baby’s gender can be determined based on the types of craving a woman is having. Unfortunately, there is no correlation between pregnancy cravings and gender but it is still a lot of fun to take the gender prediction quizzes online and keep friends and family guessing until the results of the ultrasound are back!
Pam
RSS Feed