Congratulations on your pregnancy! Pregnancy can be a beautiful journey filled with new realizations and anticipations. One of the biggest expectations an expecting couple experience is the gender of the baby. While many countries allow you to find the gender of the baby through the scans, it is illegal in India. Can a baby’s movements predict if it’s a boy or a girl?
This has led many expecting parents to guess what the gender would be, based on various aspects throughout the pregnancy. Have you ever wondered if the baby’s movements inside the womb can indicate whether it’s a girl or a boy? Do you think that’s a myth? Let’s find out!
Video of Can Baby’s Movement Predict If It’s Boy or Girl?
Can Baby’s Movements Predict If It’s Boy or Girl?
There are many families which believe that the baby’s movements inside the womb can predict gender. As a would-be-mother, you would have also wondered if those beliefs were true or not. So let’s look at some of the common beliefs regarding gender prediction based on a baby’s movements. Please note that this is not scientifically backed and is just some beliefs that have been passed on through generations.
1. The Baby Lying on the Left Side is a Boy!
It is a common belief that if your baby is lying on the right side (placenta on the right), it is a boy. Though this is a theory believed in by many, it has no scientific backing and has only a 50-50 chance to come true.
2. Do Baby’s Movements Indicate Gender?
- The baby’s movements are felt stronger on the side where the placenta has attached itself to the womb. As mentioned above, if the placenta is attached to the right side and you feel more movement on the right side, you could be carrying a boy.
- If your placenta attaches itself to the left side of your uterus, you will feel more baby movements here. This is believed to indicate you could be pregnant with a girl baby.
3. Active or Inactive Baby in the Womb Indicates Gender!
Many people, over generations, believe that if the baby is very active in the womb, it could be a girl. Similarly, if the baby has long periods of inactivity, it could be a boy.
In reality, this depends on the mother and her pregnancy journey. You will feel the movements differently in your second pregnancy when compared to the first.
4. Boy or Girl – Who Kicks Harder?
Ask a mother who has had both a girl and a boy baby, and she will tell you she got kicked equally by both. However, it is a popular belief that the girls kick harder than the boys. In reality, if this is your second pregnancy, you are more aware of the movements and the muscles are not as tight as before. This can cause you to feel the movements and kicks much harder than the first time around. Read here to learn more about baby kicks.
So, you could still be carrying a boy instead of a girl even the second time, but you might feel the kicks to be stronger. Baby’s movements may not be the predicting factor here!
5. Baby Boy Bump Vs. Baby Girl Bump
Many people in various cultures take one look at the baby bump and predict the gender right away. It is a common belief that if the bump is firm, round, and located around the upper half of your abdomen, you are carrying a boy. On the other hand, if the bump is not very round and tends to sag lower, it is a girl that you are carrying.
Hope you have a lot of fun guessing the gender of the baby until you meet them face to face. Just don’t rush to buy things or decorate the nursery based on the movements you are feeling in the womb.
Can You Predict Your Baby’s Sex With The Ramzi Theory?
According to doctors, no you cannot predict the sex of the baby using the Ramzi theory. This theory claims that the position of the placenta can indicate the sex of the baby. Dr. Saam Ramzi’s theory claims that placenta-bearing male babies attach to the right side of the uterus and the placenta-bearing female babies attach to the left side. So, the placenta’s position can help identify the baby’s gender even before the genitalia is clear (1).
Though the study was concluded after studying multiple ultrasounds, it has not been approved or peer-reviewed in any journals. Doctors do not approve or draw any references to this theory during the scans or check-ups.
When Can I Find Out The Sex Of My Baby?
If you are living in India, you cannot find the sex of your baby until after the delivery, as it is illegal to identify a fetus’ gender. In other countries, doctors usually reveal the gender during the scan taken around the 20th week of pregnancy (2). A baby’s gender can be identified as early as 14 weeks but doctors generally wait until week 20, to avoid any mistakes. Around this time the genitalia is almost completely formed and is easily visible in the scans.
Differences Between Boy And Girl Pregnancy Symptoms
Though scientifically inaccurate, predicting the baby’s sex based on different pregnancy symptoms can be quite interesting. It can be innocent fun between the expecting parents or close friends and family. Let’s look at some cultural myths and beliefs regarding the sex of the baby and pregnancy symptoms:
| Food Cravings | You will crave something sweet like chocolates, fruits, and cakes. | You will crave something salty or spicy like meat, cheese, etc. |
| Heartburn | You will suffer from constant or regular heartburn | No symptoms of heartburn. |
| Morning Sickness | Morning sickness can be severe or extreme | Hardly any morning sickness or just mild nausea. |
| Linear Nigra | The linea nigra starts from just below the belly button | The linea nigra starts from above the belly button. |
| Hair and Nail Conditions | Hair and nails are brittle, dull, or break easily. | Hair and nails are luscious, strong, and glowing with health |
| Oily Skin | Skin is too oily | Skin feels dry |
| Pregnancy Acne | A lot of pregnancy acne | Very little or no pregnancy acne |
| Loss of Energy | Feel alert, and energetic and have no memory issues | Feel tired, experience brain fog, get forgetful, and clumsier. |
| Feet Swelling | Feet remain the same, with no swelling. | Feet swell or increase in size |
| Breast Size | Breasts stay proportionate to body size | Breasts become very large and heavy and are not in proportion to body size. |
| Fetal Heart Rate | Fetal heart rate will be more than 140 beats per minute | Fetal heart rate will be less than 140 beats per minute |
When pregnant, guessing the baby’s gender can be the most exciting game or guessing one can do. Remember, all of these are old wives’ tales and doctors do not vouch for these predictions. It can be fun to guess the baby’s gender based on all the signs and symptoms. So, enjoy guessing, and remember to love your baby be it a male or a female.
FAQ’s
1. How Can You Tell if a Baby is Male or Female?
Some of the common beliefs are – if you experience more morning sickness if your baby is in a breech position or if you are craving sweets or suffering from gestational diabetes, you could be carrying a girl baby. In reality, this question can be answered only through a scan or after birth.
2. Are You More Tired When Pregnant with a Girl?
It is believed that a baby girl in the womb can cause a lot of hormonal fluctuations, causing you to be moody and tired all the time. A boy on the other hand may not tire you out so much.
3. Are You More Sick With a Girl or a Boy?
It is a common old wives’ tale that being pregnant with a girl baby can cause more morning sickness than a boy baby. The reason behind this belief is that girl babies produce more hCG than boys, thus causing the mother to feel sicker.
4. Difference Between Boy And Girl Movement
Many believe that if the baby is very active in the womb, it could be a boy and if the baby does not move much, it could be a girl.
5. Does Movement Of A Baby Indicates Gender?
Scientifically it does not. However, many old wives’ tales believe if the baby’s movements are concentrated towards the right side of the womb, it could be a boy.
6. Can the Position Of the Baby Predict Gender?
According to many myths, if the baby is on the right side of the womb, it indicates a boy and if the baby is on the left, it indicates a girl. In reality, the baby’s position depends on where the placenta attaches to the uterus.
7. Which Gender Kicks On The Left Side?
According to certain myths, if the baby is on the left side, it could be a girl. The expecting mother will feel the kicks more on the side to which the placenta is attached. So, if the placenta is attached to the left side of the womb, she will feel more kicks on the left.
8. How Can You Predict If It’s A Boy Or a Girl?
Scientifically, you cannot predict the gender of a baby without a scan. However, different cultures have different myths based on the position of the baby, the intensity of the kicks, the shape and size of the baby bump, and also what foods the mother is craving.
9. Are Boy Babies More Active?
Research shows both boys and girls are equally active in the womb. Healthy babies developing as per expectations will be more active than babies with developmental issues.
10. From Which Month Baby Girl Movement Start?
During the first pregnancy, most women will start feeling their baby’s movements between weeks 16 and 25. During the second pregnancy, she can feel the movements as early as the 13th week itself. This applies to both genders.
[Read Also: Chinese Gender Predictor : Guess the Gender of your Baby]
References
- Academia, A Local Study Into Fetal Gender Determination – https://www.academia.edu/36119722/A_Local_Study_Into_Fetal_Gender_Determination#
- Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 – https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/8399/1/pre-conception-pre-natal-diagnostic-techniques-act-1994.pdf
