Men and women are curious alike. And when it comes to knowing the gender of the baby, no parent can keep still for 10 whole months! We will discuss various scientific and old wives' tale on child gender prediction methods.
Scientific methods
Amniocentesis
In this procedure the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus is removed using a needle which is inserted into the mothers' abdomen. As this fluid is immediately surrounding the fetus, it contains cells from the baby. And these cells will contain DNA of the baby. Doing a DNA test can reveal not only the sex of the baby, but also any disease that the baby is liable to have after birth.
Chorionic villi sampling
This procedure is used in very early pregnancy (10 weeks), when the fetus is nothing more than a tiny blob of tissue ball. The layer surrounding this tissue blob contains cells from the fetus. A few cells are obtained from this without disturbing the inner developing fetus. A DNA test confirms the sex and possibility of any disease.
These are highly risky and highly invasive child gender prediction methods. They are costly too. A less invasive method is the ultra sound.
Ultra sound
Ultra sound scans are done as a part of routine checkup during pregnancy. The gender of the baby becomes known during the process and no scan is done explicitly to know the gender as such. The baby's sex can be identified clearly around 16th week of pregnancy. Many countries have banned on revealing the sex of the child due to female infanticide and feticide.
Other methods
Chinese calendar
This calendar predicts gender of the child based on age of the mother during conception and the month of conception. It has been found to be 90% accurate. The age calculation differs slightly and is largely based on the Chinese New Year dates.
Gold chain and ring method
A chain is taken with or without a ring and is placed over the right palm of the pregnant woman. The chain either rotates (it's a girl!) or swings (it's a boy!). No manipulation here. Just keep the chain still and see how true it is for you.
Bodily changes and gender
It is said that if it is a boy the woman will carry a low stomach, will have darker areolas, will have thicker hair on legs and plenty more such things. It is said to be opposite if it is a girl child.
Heart beat and gender
It is said that a male fetus produces slower heart beats (though much faster than a adult human) than a girl fetus. For a girl fetus the pulse is said to be more than 140 beats per min.
If you are pregnant try these second category child gender prediction methods for fun!