How to Really Know if You’re Having a Girl or a Boy
After you see that positive pregnancy test result, your next question will likely be, “When am I due?” And your second thought is likely to be, “I wonder if I’ll have a girl or a boy.” Imagining the sex of your baby is a way to bond with your little one before they arrive. Friends and family (and even strangers) will likely be curious, too, often asking, “Do you know what you’re having?” And if you answer no, the follow-up is usually “Are you going to find out?”
For those who do want to know, searching for answers (especially easy ones!) is common.
The Internet is full of myths and fairy tales about how to determine if you’re having a boy or a girl. Some “theories” appear to be quite scientific, but in reality lack any evidence. Of course, there are also medically sound ways to find out the sex of your baby while you’re pregnant, too.
Here’s everything you need to know about predicting the sex of your baby—the myths and the facts.
Finding Out
Just over half of men and women want to find out the sex of their baby before the birth. One study found that 57 percent of couples wanted to find out.
Finding out if you’re having a boy or a girl before the baby arrives is a personal choice based on your circumstances and preference. While there is no right or wrong, there are pros and cons to either argument.
Here are some reasons why a parent might want to find out the sex ahead of time:
- Hoping to bond earlier: The more you know about the baby, the closer you’ll feel before they arrive.
- Pure curiosity: Not everyone likes surprises! You may just want to know.
- Planning the nursery or baby clothes: Especially if you're partial to gender-specific themes or colors, you might want to plan this in advance.
- Gender reveal party plans: Pretty popular these days, gender reveal parties sometimes are part of baby showers and allow you to share the news with loved ones.
- Strong preference for one sex or the other: For those whose desire to have either a boy or girl is strong, waiting to know until the birth may feel difficult.
- Medical decisions: In some cases, determining the sex of the baby is part of monitoring for congenital diseases that are more prevalent in boys or girls. However, it’s unusual in this case to only seek out the sex of the baby. More specific genetic testing is also likely to be done.
Alternatively, not every parent wants to know the sex of his or her baby before the birth. Or sometimes, one parent wants to know, but the other doesn’t. Here are some reasons why parents may wait to learn the sex:
- To be surprised: For some, the desire to be surprised at the birth is stronger than the curiosity to find out sooner.
- Worried about gender disappointment: Gender disappointment is very real. (More on this below.) While some who have a strong preference may want to find out early, others may intentionally want to delay finding out. It’s harder to be disappointed about the sex of the baby on the day of the birth, due to all the other high, happy emotions at the event.
- Not attached to sex-specific colors or stereotypes: Not everyone thinks boys should have blue nurseries and girls should have pink. Or, they may wish to encourage friends and family to go for more sex-neutral colors. Keeping the sex a secret makes that more likely.
- Religious or traditional beliefs: Some believe it is bad luck to find out the sex before the birth, or that it interferes with God’s plan. Some just have strong traditional customs and prefer to keep the sex a surprise until the baby is born.
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