Pink or Blue
A Guide to Determining Gender
By Lisa Hurt Kozarovich

Sara Fleury of Phoenix, Ariz. swears by the Chinese fertility chart. Laura Brooks and her friends in Orange County, Calif. say if you want to know the sex of your baby without an ultrasound, the pencil-on-a-string method has proven 90 percent accurate in their group. Then there’s the old urine-in-the-Drano test. In fact, there are dozens of unscientific methods commonly used by expecting couples, all anxious to know whether they’re having a boy or a girl.

The pencil-, wedding band- or needle-on-a-string test is among the most popular methods, says Ann Douglas, mother of four and author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books.

"This one is Hungarian in nature. You put the wedding band on a string and hold it still over the belly. If it moves in a strong, circular motion it’s a girl. If it swings in a pendulum motion it’s a boy," says Douglas, who has researched the folklore behind the methods. "It’s psychological -- kind of like the Ouija board. You think you’re keeping it still, but there are very slight tremors in your hands that make it move. Still, it’s a fun shower game."

One of the oldest wives’ tales says if you’re carrying the baby low, it’s a boy, and if you're carrying it high, it’s a girl.

"This one’s pretty sexist," Douglas says. "English folklore says boys need to be more independent so they carry lower, while girls need more protection and therefore are carried higher. In reality, how you carry the baby depends on the baby’s position, the shape of your uterus, your posture and the kind of shape your abdomen muscles are in."

Don’t try telling that to Tara Sinclair of New York, N.Y., who is due very soon. Although she’s not going to find out the sex of her baby -- saying life doesn’t provide many other surprises these days -- she thinks she’s having a boy because she’s carrying very low and at the front. "The universal opinion is that means it’s a boy," she says. "If you put on weight all over, then it is supposed to be a girl. This theory has held true with all of my friends."

But in the case of Gracemarie Jeter, that theory was debunked. Although her ultrasound correctly showed she was having a girl, "many people thought the science was wrong because I was carrying all in the front."

Nonetheless, another theory did prove true, she says. "One non-scientific test my boss said his family swears by, and he alleges has never been wrong, is this: If you need to shave less during pregnancy, you are having a girl. If you need to shave more than you did in pre-pregnancy, then you are having a boy. I needed to shave less often and I did have a girl."

The Chinese Fertility Chart is also very popular. The chart uses the age of the mother at conception and the month of conception to determine gender. Linda Woody, of Cherry Hill, N.J., says it’s "never been wrong yet in our circle of family and friends.

One of the newer methods has women mixing their urine in a cup of Drano. If the mixture turns blue, it’s supposed to be a boy; if it’s brown, a girl. "This one is very prevalent -- there are whole Web sites dedicated to it," Douglas says. "It’s supposed to be using hormonal output to determine gender. I think maybe women believe this one because the procedure is similar to a home pregnancy test."

Another common belief is that if the baby is very active, it’s a boy "based on the sexist belief that boys are naturally more boisterous," says Douglas. Or if you feel the most activity at night, it’s a boy. "During the day, you’re working, you’re taking care of the kids, whatever you’re doing, you just aren’t going to notice every little twinge as much as you will once you’re in bed."

"It’s all a numbers game," Douglas says. "You’ve got a 50/50 chance, so all of these methods will be right for at least half the people who use them."

Some women, who dismiss these ideas as nonsense, have put their faith in a couple of other methods because the evidence is based on scientific studies. The newest one, Douglas says, comes from a study conducted recently in Sweden. In the study of 5,900 women, researchers found that 56 percent of the women who had severe morning sickness had a girl.

"I have to admit I gave that one some consideration, then I realized I was falling into the trap," Douglas says. "There’s a very subtle difference between 56 percent and 50 percent. Maybe they simply have more girls in Sweden, maybe the women who were getting sick ate chocolate every day, who knows what was causing more morning sickness? There may be an iota of truth, but there’d need to be a lot more studies to confirm these findings."

The same might be said of a 1993 study at the University of Kentucky, which concluded that gender could be determined by the rate of the fetal heartbeat. If the heartbeat is more than 140 beats per minute, it’s more likely to be a boy, according to Douglas. "But every other study has debunked that," she says. Dr. Jill Powell, an OB/GYN and professor at the St. Louis School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., says the heartbeat rate theory is one she’s often asked about. "I get asked a lot whether I can tell gender based on the heart rate," she says. "But there is no measurable difference."

What is effective in determining gender is the ultrasound. In fact, improved technology means the ultrasound is now almost always accurate, says Dr. Powell. "I say almost always because there can be incidents where the umbilical cord could mimic male genitalia, but that’s unlikely. Usually with boys, it’s very obvious. It’s a little harder with girls. If we’re not actually seeing female genitalia, we usually say we can’t tell."

Dr. Powell believes the improved accuracy of the ultrasound has led more women to want to know the sex of their baby in the past few years. "We can make a very accurate diagnosis today, and the majority of people want to know the baby’s sex, whether it’s their first child or their fifth," she says. "I’d say 80 percent to 90 percent of my patients want to know the sex of their baby during the routine ultrasound at 20 weeks, and I think that’s pretty typical. Most of them want to be able to paint the nursery, buy clothes and call the baby by name. They say it’s a matter of practicality." Dr. Powell chose not to find out the sex of her two children. "I think not knowing gives you something to look forward to," she says. "It makes those last weeks of pregnancy more tolerable."

If women choose not to find out their baby’s sex or it’s not determined during the ultrasound, they’ll have to wait until they give birth, Dr. Powell says "It’s a common request for women to ask to have an ultrasound just to find out the sex -- usually when it couldn’t be determined previously. I have to explain that without a medical reason, we can’t do it."

Aside from the ultrasound, amniosonosis is the only other scientific method to determine gender. In fact, the procedure -- which detects male or female chromosomes in the baby -- is more accurate than an ultrasound, but again, is only used for medical reasons, Dr. Powell says.

As for the unscientific methods, Dr. Powell says, "have fun, but I wouldn’t go painting the nursery based on any of them."

Want to see more?

• Ten Helpful Hints for Naming Your Baby
• Debunking Common Pregnancy Myths
• Discuss baby naming in our messageboard community: here.
  
  

About the Author: Lisa Hurt Kozarovich is a mother and writer who regularly contributes to iParenting.com.