Old Ways of Telling the Sex of a Baby Before Birth

Old wives' tales are fun ways to predict a baby's sex early on.

One of the most exciting events for expectant couples is finding out the gender of their unborn baby. While ultrasounds are the best way to determine a baby's gender, many people rely on old wives' tales to determine a baby's sex early in the pregnancy. These old wives' tales have been around for many years, but most are inaccurate and end up being false.

Carrying Low or High

One old wives' tale that many pregnant women hear is that the height of the pregnant stomach tells whether the baby is a boy or girl. Many people believe that carrying high means the woman is carrying a baby girl while carrying low means she is carrying a baby boy. This is untrue; the way that a woman's stomach looks during pregnancy depends on her muscle and uterine tone, and the weight of her stomach.

Hair Growth

Many people feel the gender of the unborn baby determines the rate the mother's hair grows. Many women are told they will grow thicker hair on their legs if they are carrying a boy and less hair on their legs if they're carrying a girl. Although some women do experience a change in the rate of hair growth during pregnancy, it is related to pregnancy hormones and not the sex of the baby.

Food Cravings

Pregnancy can make women crave certain types of food, and many people believe the type of craving correlates to the baby's gender. It has been said that women carrying girls will experience cravings for sweet foods and women carrying boys will crave sour foods. Pregnancy cravings are controlled by hormones and nutritional needs, not the sex of the unborn baby. Some women even experience cravings for objects that are not food if they have a severe nutritional deficiency.

Mother's Appearance

Many people say the mother's appearance during pregnancy is related to the sex of her baby. Some people feel a mother carrying a girl will have a round, rosy face and that a mother carrying a boy will have a long, narrow face. Some people also believe that a mother's nose widens when carrying a baby boy and that excessive acne is a sign of a girl. Any facial changes during pregnancy are related to increased blood flow and hormones in the mother's body.

Wedding Ring Test

The wedding ring test has long been used to determine whether the baby is a boy or a girl. This test is done by sliding a wedding ring onto a chain necklace and then holding the necklace still above the pregnant woman while she lays on her back. If the ring swings back and forth, she's said to be having a girl, but if the ring swings in circles, she is having a boy. While tests such as this are fun to complete during pregnancy, they are not accurate. The only accurate methods of determining a baby's gender are ultrasounds and genetic testing.