Legends about Gender in Pregnancy - do you know any?

[danacara]

I work for a predominantly French but more widely multicultural company, and today, my pregnant friend Alienor (Paris born and bred) sent out this email:
__________

From: Alienor
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 5:37 PM
Subject: Multi-cultural question

Hello!

I would like to list the different methods (from around the world), to predict if a pregnant woman is going to have a boy or a girl.

Would you like to share with me? I will also apply the predictions to my case, to compute my statistical chances of (finally) having a boy!

All input welcome!

Thanks,

Alienor

PS: sonogram and amniocentesis are not valid answers to the question above.
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So far, she's gotten a response from Srihari (from Bombay, India):

From: Srihari
Sent: vendredi 7 janvier 2005 17:45
Subject: RE: Multi-cultural question

In India, the methods are many. One of the tried and tested but not scientifically proven methods is through Vedic Astrology. The position of the planets when you were born combined with the current planetary positions could predict. But for that the timing of your birth should be accurate and so should be the knowledge of astrology.
Palmistry could also help though the metaphysical secrets have been lost with time. In terms of accuracy, timing and detailed predictions, Astrology maintains an edge over palmistry.

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A response from Esmen (Ankara, Turkey):

-----Original Message-----
From: Esmen
Sent: vendredi 7 janvier 2005 17:57
Subject: RE: Multi-cultural question

In Turkey, they say that if your belly grows more to the front and pointed forward then it is a boy, if it grows more to the sides and flatter, then it is a girl. Also if during the pregnancy period the mother gets ugly it is a girl as she is giving all her beauty to the babyJ, and if she gets prettier it is a boy.
Although those are all primitive believes of old ladies, I should say that as you are getting prettier your baby might be a boy or an ugly girl P

______________________
and a response from Derek (Shanghai, China):

-----Original Message-----
From: Derek
Sent: vendredi 7 janvier 2005 18:53
Subject: RE: Multi-cultural question

In China, we share the same opinion about the body shape as Turkish, besides Chinese people thought if a women during preganancy likes sour food (like tomatoes, vinegar taste, etc) then it is very likely a boy. Since I know Alienor and you always like sour oranges even before preganancy, so at least this prediction is not against you.

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Do you guys have any suggestions for me for the American contribution? Or do you have a unique one from your own cultural history?

THANKS!

 

[KimR]

If the hair at the nape of your neck looks like a 'W' you will have a boy; if it looks like a 'V' you will have a girl. Mine looks like a 'W' and stayed that way throughout all my pregnancies and I have 3 girls so obviously, that one didn't work for me.

 

[disneyworld!]

yes, and they have seemed to hold true! If you carry high and in front ...a boy. if you carry all around a girl! also I cannot prove this one. but everytime I was sick..it was a girl...and my firned boys, she was never sick

 

[julia & nicks mom]

here is a test you can take online and what it generally tells you - it held true in both of my pregnancies
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html

You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is growing faster during pregnancy, so it's a boy.
Girls are carried high.
Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the north indicates that you will be having a boy.
Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a boy.
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with Mom-to-be, which means that you'll have a boy.
You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy, so it will be a boy.
You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.
If the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy.
A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles, so you will have a boy. Straight line - a girl
Your urine is a bright neon yellow color, so you will have a boy.
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl. Salty Foods a boy.
Your nose has been spreading, which indicates a boy.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl. Basketball - a boy

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
This one worked for me.

You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.

When I was PG with DD someone told me the opposite. I was glowing so that meant I was having a girl.

 

[SeeDisney]

Chinagold.com has a chinese lunar statistical calendar year to tell 66% accuracy if you're pregnant with a boy or girl. I did it with my three children and it was accurate two out of threee.


Check it out! Chinagold.com

 

[3gr8kids]

I was at the market with DD #1, who was an infant at the time, a little old Portuguese woman came up to me and looked at my DD's hair (specifically, the crown of her head). She told me that my next baby would be a girl. I asked her why she thought this and she told me that from the way a baby's hair swirls (either clockwise or counterclockwise) you could tell the sex of your next child. I was pretty skeptical, but low and behold, my next baby was a girl! When DD #2 started getting hair, I asked my good friends grandmother (who is Portuguese) what she thought my next baby would be if I had one, and she looked at my DD's hair and said "Boy". Sure enough, next baby was a boy!! Strange, huh?

 

[ericamanda01]

This may be a trick from the south, being that I grew up in the south and where I learned it. But you take a pencil, a needle and a thread. Thread the needle and put the needle in the eraser of the pencil. Holding the pencil by the string over the mothers belly and let it dangle there. If the pencil moves in a circle it's a girl and if it moves in a line it's a boy. Everytime I have seen it done it has never been wrong. Weird yes, wrong no!

 

[danacara]

Thanks! I'm submitting these.

 

[browneyes]

Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
This one worked for me.

My ds's heartbeat stayed between 150-160. The midwife at my OB/GYN told us her prediction from that that he would be a girl. My dd was so disappointed when we had the ultrasound and it showed we were indeed having a boy instead of a girl.

My own prediction is if the nose is wide, you're having a girl. If the nose is slender or normal, you're having a boy. Also, if you're abnormally cold or cool, you're having a boy. Abnormally hot or warm, you're having a girl. Also with girls, the bust line increases faster than when pregnant with boys.

 

[piglet too]

I was at the market with DD #1, who was an infant at the time, a little old Portuguese woman came up to me and looked at my DD's hair (specifically, the crown of her head). She told me that my next baby would be a girl. I asked her why she thought this and she told me that from the way a baby's hair swirls (either clockwise or counterclockwise) you could tell the sex of your next child. I was pretty skeptical, but low and behold, my next baby was a girl! When DD #2 started getting hair, I asked my good friends grandmother (who is Portuguese) what she thought my next baby would be if I had one, and she looked at my DD's hair and said "Boy". Sure enough, next baby was a boy!! Strange, huh?

Wow, never heard that one but it is right on for my family, really neat!!

 

[kbkids]

The Drano test worked both times with me, not to mention, I have a really weird story about it too.

You get the Drano crystals - not the liquid - pour about 1-2 tablespoons in a GLASS jar (very important). Then pour about 1/2 cup of your urine into it. DO IT OUTSIDE - it stinks!! Anyway, if it turns green (the color of the crystals), it's a girl. If it turns brown, it's a boy. I have a boy and a girl - was correct both times. Several friends of mine have tried it and it's worked for them too. One of them even had her doctor recommend she try it as the baby wasn't cooperating for the ultrasound. He told her, "I don't know why it works - but every patient I've known that has tried it, has turned out correctly."

Now for the weird story - another friend was pregnant with twins. She did the same test, and it literally turned top half green, bottom half brown. She thought she messed it up, so she stirred it up. It settled back exactly the same again - half and half. Yes, she had a boy and a girl.

After that event, I've been sold on this test!

 

[clutter]

Put some saliva on a penny and stick it up on a wall. If it sticks, it's a girl, if it falls, it's a boy.

My old dentist swore he was never wrong by looking a the mother's nose. If it was bigger during pregancy, it was a boy. (which is the total opposite of Browneye's).

 

[MelessaG]

One that was true for me was that my rear-end spread much more with my son than my daughters. Last month, before my younger sister's u/s, I noticed she was getting a little wider across the back in the exact same way I did with DS. I told her I thought she was having a boy. We found out a couple of weeks ago that I was right! Of course, that may just be for our family...

 

[Alice28]

This is more of a way of upping your chances of getting a boy or a girl; not for telling what you're having when you are already preggo.

If you want a girl, you are supposed to do the deed often. but only in the time line between your last period ending and STOPPING 30-48 hours before you are set to ovulate. You must know your body in order to know when to stop (ie taking your temperature every morning for a few months, or knowing what discharge to look for---sorry if too graphic).

If you want a boy, you are supposed to NOT to the deed in the two weeks leading up to ovulation, but do it the day you ovulate and several days afterwards.

The theory is that X (girl) sperm are slow and sturdy. They take longer to reach the egg, but they are stronger cells. The Y sperm are faster, but they die off quicker. So if you "do the deed" a couple days before the egg bursts out, the sperm that will be left will mostly be X chromosome sperm. If you do it when the egg is already out, it's more likely that a Y sperm will get to it first. I read this theory while trying for our 2nd child. I did not follow it because I got impatient (we were trying for a girl as our first was a boy, and I know he was conceived after I ovulated, so the theory proved true with him). This third time I know we pretty much followed the timeline for girl. I also looked at that chinagold baby chart and it proved true for us.

 

[phamton]

I've often questioned those time of conception theories such as astrology or conceiving right after ovulation after I gave birth to boy/girl twins.

I also carried my babies right out in front and never around the hips. In fact from the back, you couldn't tell I was pregnant until I turned around as it was all in front. I had a girl, then boy/girl twins, then a boy, and last another boy.

 

[Buckalew11]

This may be a trick from the south, being that I grew up in the south and where I learned it. But you take a pencil, a needle and a thread. Thread the needle and put the needle in the eraser of the pencil. Holding the pencil by the string over the mothers belly and let it dangle there. If the pencil moves in a circle it's a girl and if it moves in a line it's a boy. Everytime I have seen it done it has never been wrong. Weird yes, wrong no!

This has always worked for me. I don't know why or how, LOL, but it does. I can even do it on someone who isn't pregnant and it works! It will tell all the babies sex. My sister has 4 and it will tell me all four. Of course, mine did something like girl, boy, girl & I chose to only have 1 child who is a girl. Who knows--maybe the next 2 would have been a boy and girl. ??

 

[kasar]

I've always heard that a basketball (shape of your tummy) is a boy and a football is a girl.

 

[Alice28]

I've often questioned those time of conception theories such as astrology or conceiving right after ovulation after I gave birth to boy/girl twins.

I also carried my babies right out in front and never around the hips. In fact from the back, you couldn't tell I was pregnant until I turned around as it was all in front. I had a girl, then boy/girl twins, then a boy, and last another boy.

That would make the charts seem totally silly, wouldn't it!

They are just "theories"--I don't even consider astrology or the Chinese charts a theory- just something fun. I did find the conception theory interesting though and it seems to have some scientific merit---it doesn't say it WILL happen if you do it this way...it just ups your chances one way or another several percentage points...I think the book says if you follow it to a "t" it ups your chances to 80 or 85% of having the gender you're trying for..it's not fool proof.

 

[phamton]

I've heard some good data on the ovulation theory also. But as for twins if you just take fraternal and not identical twins and chart the odds of each it averages out just as you would think. 1/3 are girl/girl, 1/3 or boy/boy, and 1/3 or boy/girl. http://mypage.direct.ca/c/csamson/multiples/3various.html

This seems to cast doubt on the ovulation theory to me.

I also looked at it another way which would change the expectation and support the ovulation theory. I would think you might see : 1/4 girl/girl, 1/4 boy/boy, 1/4 boy/girl, 1/4 girl/boy. In that case you should see 1/2 of fraternal twins as opposite sexes. But the data shows only 1/3 of fraternals to be different sexes.