Despite the development of medicine, there are still quite a lot of signs and beliefs in obstetrics. Until recently, due to the lack of ultrasound machines, obstetricians and young parents had to rely on inaccurate methods of determining the sex of the child, based only on the subjective experience of past generations. With the development of technologies that make it possible to clearly see the embryo, we, obstetricians-gynecologists, can say with great accuracy a boy or a girl is expected in a young family. However, I still often have to debunk the myths associated with gender prediction.
How is the sex of a child determined?
One of the common myths is determining the sex of a child by the fetal heartbeat. It is believed that this method was widely used by obstetricians-gynecologists before the invention of ultrasound, so it is quite accurate, but in fact this is not entirely true. How to determine the sex of the child by the heartbeat? There are several versions of this myth. One of the options is that if at rest the heart rate (heart rate) is more than 140 beats per minute, then you should wait for a girl, if less than 140, then there will be a boy. It is believed that using this method, it is possible to determine the sex of a child at 12 weeks by heartbeat.
There is also an opposite version: boys' heart rate should be higher than 160 beats per minute, and girls - less than 140. Another opinion that I have heard during my practice is that if a child's heartbeat does not coincide with the mother's pulse, then there will be a boy. Let's see if this method works?
When is the heartbeat determined?
Already from the second or third week of embryo development, the rudiments of what will become the heart in the future begin to form. It is not at all like the organ we are used to - it has no chambers and valves.
The work of the fetal heart inside the mother's womb is an amazing process that has significant differences from life outside the mother's belly. Since the fetus is constantly surrounded by liquid, it does not need to breathe, it receives all the substances it needs through the placenta. Thus, the heart does not need to pump blood through the respiratory organs to saturate it with oxygen. The baby has special vessels that bypass the lungs. After birth, they overgrow. Another distinctive feature is the presence of an opening between the upper chambers of the heart, after birth, it also closes.
The heart of the fetus begins to beat around the sixth week of development. At the beginning, the heart rate is 90-110 beats per minute. Then it increases every day.
By the ninth week, the heart rate reaches its peak: 140-170 beats per minute, the same for girls and boys. In the first trimester, we can determine the heartbeat only during an ultrasound scan, but from the twentieth week, the doctor will be able to listen to it already with the help of a stethoscope. From the thirteenth week, the baby's heart is already actively working.
Serious deviations of the heart rate from the norm are an alarming sign that not everything is in order with the baby.
Is it possible to determine the sex of the child by the heartbeat? In 2006, doctors from the United States decided to conduct a study with the participation of almost 500 pregnant women, which would confirm or deny it. After analyzing the data obtained, the scientists did not reveal significant deviations and came to the conclusion that it was impossible to distinguish a boy or a girl by the fetal heartbeat.
On the possibility of influencing the sex of the unborn child
I always explain to my patients and their relatives that they cannot influence the gender of the unborn baby in any way. It is widely known that the sex of a child is determined at the time of conception. However, at the very beginning of development, girls and boys look the same, despite the fact that some have XX chromosomes and others have XY. Sex differences begin to form only from the tenth week of pregnancy.
Despite the fact that we have already found out that the fetal heart rate is not a reliable indicator of determining the sex of a child, there are methods that can tell you exactly who to expect: a boy or a girl.
Ultrasound
The most common diagnostic method, with the help of which, they learn a lot of useful information about the development of the fetus. An ultrasound scan is performed several times during pregnancy. For a period of about twenty weeks, it is already possible to quite clearly determine the sex of the child. However, due to the posture of the fetus, sometimes it is not immediately possible to see the genitals.
Usually, I suggest that parents wait a little, as there is a possibility that the child will turn around and a long-awaited answer can be received on repeated ultrasounds. Ultrasound devices are constantly being improved, new techniques appear, therefore the quality of diagnostics is also improving.
Cell-free DNA
In recent years, this method has become widely used. Despite the presence of a barrier in the form of the placenta, little of the fetus's genetic material or DNA gets into the mother's blood. This analysis can be carried out early, starting from the ninth week. The main goal of this study is to identify hereditary anomalies and in the process of its implementation, it usually becomes clear which sex the fetus is based on by the set of chromosomes. I cannot recommend this method for routine fetal sex determination due to its complexity, high cost and high percentage of false results. Most often, this test is performed on women who are at increased risk of genetic diseases (for example, Down's syndrome).
Amniocentesis and chorionic villus biopsy
These methods are also used primarily to diagnose diseases, but in the process, you can find out the sex of the child. During amniocentesis, a puncture of the uterus is done in order to take a small amount of amniotic fluid for analysis. This fluid contains cells that are examined for genetic abnormalities. Despite the rather high safety of the procedure, based on the data of international obstetric organizations, in my practice I never perform amniocentesis in the absence of direct indications, since there is always a risk of bleeding or infection. This procedure is often performed after the fifteenth week.
Chorionic villus sampling is also an invasive procedure that requires a puncture. In the process of this study, a small amount of tissue from the placenta is taken. It can be performed earlier than amniocentesis, from the eleventh to the fourteenth week. We only perform this procedure on women with a high risk of genetic abnormalities.
Invalid methods
Since we have already debunked one myth, I want to tell you about a few more of the most popular misconceptions.
Location of the abdomen
There is a popular misconception that the position of a pregnant woman's abdomen can predict the sex of a baby. It is believed that if he is high, then there will be a girl, if low - a boy. However, the truth is that the position of the abdomen is primarily influenced by the woman's physical condition. If the pregnancy is the first, the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall are strong and the weight gain is small, then most likely we will find a high-positioned abdomen. In a mom who has gone through several births in the past, more often I expect to see a low belly.
Gastronomic addiction
It is believed that if a woman strongly wants sweets during pregnancy, then she expects a girl; if she prefers salty food, then it will be more likely a boy. In fact, there is no such dependence, each woman has her own wishes, which have nothing to do with the sex of the unborn child.Moreover, based on my experience, I can say that not all expectant mothers develop unusual gastronomic tastes during pregnancy. But the appearance of the desire to eat inedible objects, for example, soap, chalk, dirt, should alert the woman and the doctor who is observing her.
Appearance
There is a widespread belief that if a woman is expecting a girl, then part of her beauty, as it were, goes to the child, therefore, such mothers' appearance deteriorates. But the future mothers of boys are flourishing and have no problems with skin and hair. However, this is not quite true. During pregnancy, the concentration of female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone increases significantly, they are responsible for changes in the appearance of a woman during this period.
Manifestations of toxicosis
It is believed that if a woman suffers very much from toxicosis in the first trimester, then most likely she is expecting a girl. In fact, we also blame pregnancy hormones for her feeling unwell. More often in my practice, I see that the symptoms of toxicosis are most pronounced in women with multiple pregnancies, suffering from migraines, obesity and prone to motion sickness in transport. These observations are supported by international guidelines for obstetrics.
Mood swings
Another common myth is that a woman expecting a girl is more susceptible to mood swings than a boy's mother-to-be. In fact, the "hormonal explosion" that every pregnant woman faces is to blame for the increased emotionality. Based on my experience, I can say that women who experience stress and serious personal tragedies during pregnancy are especially prone to mood swings.
This is just a part of the "folk" methods of sex prediction - there are also various Chinese tables for calculating sex by date of conception, lunar calendars, wedding ring manipulations and other dubious methods. Thanks to the advent of ultrasound, all of the above methods for determining the sex of the baby are finally a thing of the past, but many, while waiting for the procedure, undertake to guess the sex of the child themselves. What methods have you heard about?
