How to Tell if You Are Having a Boy or Girl in Pregnancy

Step 1

Get an ultrasound at 20 weeks gestation or later. If baby cooperates, and positions herself or himself for easy viewing, the boy or girls parts can be seen. In an ultrasound, the girl parts will have three parallel glowing lines and the boys look like a turtle. Although ultrasound is usually highly accurate, you should know that mistakes do happen when using ultrasound to determine gender.

Step 2

Ask to have the gender determined if you are having an amniocentesis. This method is the only one that guarantees 100 percent accuracy for gender determination. However, due to the risks associated with the test, amniocenteses are only performed for medical reasons. Knowing the gender just happens to come with the other genetic test results.

Step 3

Compare this pregnancy to previous pregnancies. Subtle differences may clue you in on the sex of the baby. There is some truth to the old wives’ tale that baby girls cause their moms to be sicker than baby boys do. The New York Times reports that several studies found that women with hyperemesis gravidarum, the most severe form of morning sickness, were more likely to deliver a girl. Another study showed that moms pregnant with boys were hungrier than with girls, according to WebMD.

Step 4

Use the old wives’ tales and myths that declare you are having a boy or girl with a sense of humor and for fun. Here are some to test out; carrying low—it’s a boy; craving salty foods—boy, craving sweet foods—girl; and if young boys are more clingy toward you—it’s a girl and vice versa. Also added to this list is the common myth that if the baby has a faster heart rate, then it’s a girl. This one can be true, according to a 1999 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but only if the faster heart rate occurs when you are going into labor; before that, it’s just a myth.