One of the most exciting highlights of pregnancy are the sonograms, where you can take a peek at baby before he's born. But lately a growing number of moms-to-be are using these images a whole new way: to try to take an early stab at predicting the gender of their baby. Sure, by around 20 weeks, the fetus is developed enough that a sonogram technician can tell you the sex with a fair amount of confidence (assuming baby is positioned the right way). But some moms swear sonograms give clues to a baby's gender as early as six weeks!
This news has prompted hordes of hopeful parents to scrutinize their early sonogram pics, and upload them online for predictions from others. According to a survey by the British parenting site Netmums, one third of parents have posted early ultrasound images on websites like Facebook soliciting friends to weigh in on whether it's a boy or girl; meanwhile sites like In-gender hosts whole discussion boards on how to guess right.
Granted, the medical community is skeptical that this method really works.
More from CafeMom: Quiz: Are You Having a Boy or a Girl?
"The only way to determine sex during a sonogram is by visualizing the penis or vagina," says Fahimeh Sasan, MD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. And these private parts just don't exist until well into a pregnancy. Still, many might think there's something to it because the odds of guessing right are pretty good. "Sex is 50/50, so any old wives tale or gimmick will be correct 50 percent of the time," Dr. Sasan points out.
Still, even if early sonograms aren't an accurate way to predict gender, we doubt that will stop parents from trying because, well, it's fun! Just don't decorate your nursery based on the results.
If you're curious to give it a try, here are the most popular ways moms claim you can tell a baby's gender from an early sonogram:
- Placenta on right side of uterus (also called the Ramzi theory) = boy
- Placenta on left side of uterus = girl
- Private parts nub pointing up less than 30 percent = girl
- Private parts nub point up more than 30 percent = boy
- Square skull and jaw = boy
- Round skull = girl
