In a time where there were no ultrasounds, how did women find out the gender of their unborn babies? There was no sure way to confirm, but they used the following old wives’ tales passed down the generations to predict gender. Some may sound ludicrous and some sound like fallacies, but many modern-day parents are also trying out these gender predictions too.

Fast forward to today, although we have ultrasounds and chromosome tests which reveal the gender, some of the following old wives’ tales still exist.

 

Craving sweet foods means you’re pregnant with a girl, or so the old folks say.

 

  1. It’s a girl if you crave sweet foods and a boy if you crave savoury foods

 

Apparently, female foetuses make their mothers crave cakes, cookies and chocolate and male foetuses, pizza, pasta and potato chips. I have a boy and a girl but never said no to ice cream or pizza during both pregnancies.

 

In actual fact, cravings are related to dietary deficiencies such as iron or calcium which the body has to replenish. Cravings are a result of a heightened sense of smell due to increased blood flow to the nose during pregnancy.

 

  1. Dewy and glowy? It’s a boy. Dull and spotty? It’s a girl.

 

Another popular saying is that female foetuses draw their beauty from their mothers, resulting in skin breakouts and a complexion worse than before, while male foetuses add glow.

 

Pregnancy takes a major toll on your body and your hormonal levels go out of sync, causing your skin to break out.

 

It is said that the gender of your next child will be the gender that your current child resembles.

 

  1. The gender of your next child will be what your current child resembles

 

This doesn’t apply to first-time moms. When I found out that I was expecting No. 2, the elderly women in my neighbourhood were adamant that it would be a boy (they were right!) because my elder daughter resembled a boy when she was younger, with short hair and boyish mannerisms.

 

  1. Sharp and pointy or round and wide?

 

The shape of your baby bump is used to predict gender as well. It is said that a pointed and sharp baby bump means that it’s a baby boy and that around and wide bump hides a baby girl. This could be coincidental, but it turned out to be true for my case.

 

  1. The Ring Test

 

This method apparently lists out the number of children and their gender in order and has lots of women vouching for its reliability. Dangle your wedding ring above your tummy using a strand of hair or a string – if it swings from side to side, it’s a boy. If it swings in a circular motion, it’s a girl.

 

Which gender will it be? Are others excited to predict your baby’s gender too?

 

  1. Current child’s hair swirl

 

This is another one for second or mums with multiple kids. If the swirl at the back of your latest child’s head swirls clockwise, it’s a girl. If it swirls anti-clockwise, it’s a boy. Nothing has said about children who have more than one swirl on their heads…

 

Take everything above with the pinch of salt as every pregnancy comes with different symptoms and such old wives’ tales cannot replace the accuracy of an ultrasound scan. After all, boy or girl, doesn’t really matter because, at the end of the day, a healthy and happy baby is most important, don’t you think?

 

Leave us a comment to tell us what you’ve heard about gender predictions!