When a woman becomes pregnant, everyone around her tries to guess the baby's gender. So when I heard that there ARE ways to determine the gender of an unborn baby (without actual lab tests), I was floored.
That exactly what Jena Pincott claims to have found out in her new book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? She takes down those old wives tales a notch and actually shares some super interesting info on how to tell if you should be shopping for pink or blue.
My mother has always loved baby bumps and claims to have her own method of determining a baby's gender just by looking at the pregnant woman's belly. As strange as I always thought that was, I couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to it. With all the different and ancient ways of determining gender, it's natural to question if any of these methods are based on facts.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Mom who gave birth in just 5 minutes alone at home is the envy of women everywhere
The answer to the baby's gender is actually determined by the father's family line. Newcastle University analyzed over 927 family trees dating back to the Elizabethan era and found that if men had more than one sibling of a particular gender; chances are he'll have a child of that same sex. This pattern can only be found in men's chromosomes, which ultimately determine what the gender of the unborn child will be. However, scientists do say that 1 in 5 men have a gender selecting bias gene which explains why boys outnumber girls.
Other ways to determine a baby's gender is to measure an expectant mother's chest. It turns out women have larger breasts when they are carrying a girl, which can expand up to 3 inches. But women carrying boys don't have any breast growth because the body requires more testosterone to produce the energy she will need for the growing fetus. How fascinating is that?!
All this time we've been obsessing over the shape of the mother's baby bump or checking out her "glow" to determine whether she's having a baby boy or girl has been a waste of time. So, if you're currently pregnant or looking to get pregnant these are some excellent tidbits to keep in mind while you go through the beginning stages of motherhood. Next time your husband nags you for a son, tell him to talk to his mom about giving him some brothers!
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