Girl or boy ? Even if the ultrasound today provides a fairly reliable answer, grandmother’s tips for knowing the sex of the baby are still relevant today. But in the nature lottery, there is a one in two chance of having a girl or a boy. And therefore as much chance of being wrong… or of being right!

According to belief, a future mother who has not suffered from nausea is expecting a boy. If, on the contrary, the nausea were present, it would be a girl.

Several studies have looked at the links between nausea during pregnancy and the sex of the baby. The latest showed that women hospitalized for hyperemesis gravidarum (a very severe form of nausea during pregnancy) were 50% more likely to have a daughter than pregnant women in the control group. Researchers point to a higher estrogen level in utero (1). The authors of a similar study had for their part put forward the following hypothesis: nausea of ​​pregnancy is associated with high concentrations of the hormone hCG, but it has been shown that at birth, a female fetus is associated with higher levels of hCG than a male fetus (2).

Want some sweet? It’s a girl ! Craving fat and salty: a boy. In any case, this is what the legend wants.

Regarding appetite, an American study has shown that expecting mothers-to-be consumed an average of 10% more calories per day (3). An increased appetite during pregnancy could therefore be the sign of an unborn baby boy.

According to beliefs, if the expectant mother carries her baby low with a very large round belly, it would be a girl. High and pointed: the big belly would hide a boy. Remember, however, that the shape of the belly of the mother-to-be depends above all on her morphology and musculature, the position of the baby and the number of pregnancies. Over the course of pregnancies, the uterus tends to stretch.

It is certainly the most famous grandmother’s thing… Want to test? Hold a pendulum or a ring suspended from the end of a chain or string above your stomach. Without moving, observe the movement of the pendulum or the ring. If he makes circular movements, it’s a girl. If he moves back and forth, it’s a boy. Of course, no scientific study has validated the reliability of this method.

Daddy’s weight

The future daddy is having a brood? According to belief, if the man gains as much weight as the mother-to-be during pregnancy, it is a boy. If her weight isn’t moving, it’s a girl.

Libido

According to belief, if her libido is at half mast during pregnancy, the mother-to-be would be expecting a daughter. Note, however, that often the libido varies greatly depending on the term.

Hair and skin

“If a pregnant woman is well colored, the fetus is male. If it is bad, it is feminine ”. It was Hippocrates who said it in one of his aphorisms, acknowledging however that this is an empirical fact (4). Still today, we still tend to associate a fresh complexion and beautiful hair with a boy; a pale complexion and more hair loss in a girl.

The linea nigra

This brown line that marks the tummies of many expectant mothers could also help predict the sex of the baby, Is it beyond the navel? It’s a girl. If not, it’s a boy! According to beliefs of course …

Mom’s premonitions

Feminine intuition, sixth sense or maternal instinct … Often, the future mother “feels” that she is expecting a baby or a girl. A study (5) published in 1999 in the journal Birth looked into the subject. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health asked 104 pregnant women to predict the sex of their baby using whatever method they wanted: grandmother’s stuff, interpretation of dreams, foreboding… Result: 55% of expectant mothers got it right, a rate slightly above 50%. In mothers with more than 12 years of schooling, this rate of correct prediction, on the other hand, rose to 71%, against only 43% for women with the fewest years of schooling. The results also showed that the most educated women relied mostly on their foreboding and dreams. However, the researchers were unable to provide a scientific explanation for these results.