• Lifestyle

Boys-Versus-Girls

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  • Lifestyle

As soon as you learn that you’re pregnant, the question of your child’s gender is one of the first things that you (and friends, family, neighbors and officemates!) will start wondering about. There have been countless gender myths that we’ve all heard before.

Myth 1: When your bump is high, it’s a girl. If it’s low, it’s a boy.

Often people ask: is your bump high (girl) or low (boy)? If you believe in this, better start doing those crunches to get a girl. The position of one’s bump is actually dictated by muscle tone in one’s core. A soon to be mom with a high bump would mean that she has a more toned core than a mother carrying low.

Myth 2: If you’re craving for sweets, it’s a girl but if you’re craving for oily and salty food, it’s a boy.

Are you craving for a savory juicy steak with a side of fried cheese sticks (boy) or a bag of sweet jellybeans and a chocolate milkshake (girl)? Don’t let these cravings fool you; they’re only your hormones kicking in. While pregnant, hormonal changes occur in your body. These changes in term make you crave for certain things out of the blue. So disregard this myth and indulge your cravings; but remember to keep your diet in check!

Myth 3: Pimples means it’s a girl!

Another popular myth related to hormones is having pimples. Your being prettier doesn’t mean you’ll be having a boy while getting acne doesn’t lead to having a girl. Again, these all have to do with hormonal changes pregnant women go through. So don’t fuss about those pimples!

Bottom line is, though fun to try, they’re about as useful as tossing a coin and deciding if you should paint your nursery cornflower blue or peony pink. These myths have no scientific basis. As for those bodily changes, all pregnant women will experience physical and emotional changes as well as baby’s changing movements and positions in your belly.

Instead of overanalyzing your cravings, body or even daddy’s weight gain (boy), head to your doctor and consider the following procedures to determine baby’s gender.

  • Ultrasound – After 20 weeks, an Ultrasound will show you images of your baby. What could be better than visual evidence from the bun? Accuracy is at 95-100%

  • Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) – CVS is done between the 10th and 12th week to look for any genetic disorders. Accuracy is 100% but consider the small risks of CVS including miscarriage and deformity.

  • Amniocentesis – Like CVS, this is done to determine genetic disorders and is performed after the 15th week by taking a sample of amniotic fluid from the abdomen and uterus. Amniocentesis is likewise accurate but also carries small risk of miscarriage.

  • Non-Invasive Home Tests – Today, Biotech companies offer home-based options that you can perform in the comforts of home. These work by way of urine samples and can be done as early as the 7th to 10th week of pregnancy. Examples include the KnowtheGender test, the Pink or Blue Early DNA Gender Test and Intelligender. Talk to your doctor about your locally available options.

Aside from these medical options, there is still the highly exciting choice of choosing not to know the gender until the day your newborn arrives! In the meantime, enjoy the 9-month journey. Whether you’ll be hearing “It’s a Boy!” or “It’s a Girl!,” what matters most is having a happy and healthy pregnancy through exercise, diet, rest, your doctor’s care and of course, the love and support of friends and family.

Sources:
Gender Myths, Shawn A. Tassone, MD and Kathryn Landherr, MD
Boy or Girl? Fact or Fiction?  
Pamahiins: Pinoy Pregnancy Beliefs by Bernadette Tan 
Acne During Pregnancy? 
Pregnant Belly Basics! 
Food Cravings and What They Mean