Pregnancy myths; you've heard them all. Are they really just old wives' tales? Learn what's true and what's not as we expose 7 common myths.
1. You can tell your baby's gender by the way you are carrying, or by the fetal heartbeat.
Myth. Other than ultrasound and amniocentesis (or chorionic villi sampling), there is no way to determine the gender of the baby you are carrying.
Babies are carried differently based on their presentation (breech, vertex, transverse), their position (anterior, posterior), their gestational age and weight, maternal weight and stature and the mother’s parity (whether or not this is her first or eighth baby).
Fetal heartbeat is really no help either. Heart tones may be heard as early as eight to ten weeks using Doppler technology. Until about 20 weeks, it is not unusual to have a fetal heartbeat in the 150 to 160 range. As the baby’s heart develops and the neurological system matures, the count may fall to between 130 to 140. The normal range is 120 to 160. Some say that a fast heart rate is a girl, based on the fact that women’s heart rates are faster than men’s. But if this were the case for an unborn baby, we would all start out as girls and turn into boys!