OB Wheel

Old wives’ tales gender quiz: boy or girl?

Answer 10 classic old wives’ tales questions and see what folklore says you’re having. Then read what the research says — spoiler: it’s a coin toss.

For entertainment only. None of these signs predicts a baby’s sex. Answers stay in your browser.
1 How are you carrying?
2 Bump shape from the side?
3 What do you crave most?
4 Morning sickness?
5 Your skin lately?
6 Your hair?
7 Mood swings?
8 Your feet?
9 Baby’s heart rate at your last check?
10 Which side do you sleep on?

What the research says

Researchers have tested these tales. In a Johns Hopkins study published in Birth in 1999, pregnant women guessed their baby’s sex correctly 55% of the time — no better than chance — and traditional signs like carrying high or low were no more accurate than guessing. A 1999 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found no predictive value in the heart-rate rule, the Chinese gender chart or the Drano test, and a 2023 meta-analysis confirmed first-trimester heart rate doesn’t differ meaningfully between boys and girls.

So enjoy the quiz, but don’t paint the nursery based on it. Where available, a blood test that screens the baby’s DNA (NIPT) can show the sex from about 10 weeks, and the mid-pregnancy scan at around 18–21 weeks often can. Want more fun? Try the Chinese gender chart or the baby predictions page.

Frequently asked questions

Do old wives’ tales predict the baby’s sex?

No. In a Johns Hopkins study published in Birth (1999), women’s guesses were right 55% of the time — about the same as chance — and traditional signs such as carrying high or low were no better than guessing.

Does a heart rate over 140 mean a girl?

No. A 2023 meta-analysis found no meaningful difference in first-trimester fetal heart rate between boys and girls, and a 1999 CMAJ study found heart rate had no predictive value.

Should I try the Drano or baking soda test?

Please don’t try the Drano test — drain cleaner is caustic and dangerous, and studies show it doesn’t predict sex anyway. Home “tests” like these are no better than chance.

When can I find out the sex for real?

Where offered, a blood test that screens the baby’s DNA in your blood (NIPT) can show the sex from about 10 weeks, and the mid-pregnancy scan at around 18–21 weeks often can.

Sources

  1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — Mothers’ predictions of baby’s sex (Birth, 1999)
  2. Ostler S, Sun A. Fetal sex determination: the predictive value of 3 common myths. CMAJ 1999;161(12):1525–6
  3. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2023) — First-trimester fetal heart rate and fetal sex: systematic review and meta-analysis