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YSK: No at-home old wives’ tale has been shown to predict a baby’s sex, and the Drano test is dangerous
Why YSK: These guesses are harmless as a game until someone spends money on them, treats ordinary symptoms as evidence, or mixes urine with drain cleaner. The at-home methods either fail when tested or have never been tested at all.
A Johns Hopkins study asked 104 pregnant women to predict fetal sex and explain their reasoning. Guesses based on belly shape, cravings, morning sickness, and similar folklore did no better than chance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10655817/
Fetal heart rate does not rescue the idea. A systematic review found it unreliable for determining fetal sex during the first trimester: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10422800/
Timing intercourse does not change the odds either. A New England Journal of Medicine study followed 625 menstrual cycles and found that timing had no practical influence on the baby’s sex: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199512073332301
Two repeated claims have limited clinical evidence, but neither is an at-home trick. A sonographer can sometimes read the fetal “nub” from a correctly aligned 12- or 13-week scan: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10444865/
Hospital-treated hyperemesis also has a small statistical association with female births. That does not turn ordinary nausea into a test: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(99)04239-7/abstract https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(9904239-7/abstract )
Skip the Drano version. The manufacturer lists sodium hydroxide as caustic because the product is meant to dissolve drain clogs: https://whatsinsidescjohnson.com/en-us/brands/drano/clogs/liquid-drain-cleaner
For a real answer, use the screening or ultrasound information from your clinician. Keep the ring-on-a-string for the baby shower.
#education
Why YSK: These guesses are harmless as a game until someone spends money on them, treats ordinary symptoms as evidence, or mixes urine with drain cleaner. The at-home methods either fail when tested or have never been tested at all.
A Johns Hopkins study asked 104 pregnant women to predict fetal sex and explain their reasoning. Guesses based on belly shape, cravings, morning sickness, and similar folklore did no better than chance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10655817/
Fetal heart rate does not rescue the idea. A systematic review found it unreliable for determining fetal sex during the first trimester: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10422800/
Timing intercourse does not change the odds either. A New England Journal of Medicine study followed 625 menstrual cycles and found that timing had no practical influence on the baby’s sex: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199512073332301
Two repeated claims have limited clinical evidence, but neither is an at-home trick. A sonographer can sometimes read the fetal “nub” from a correctly aligned 12- or 13-week scan: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10444865/
Hospital-treated hyperemesis also has a small statistical association with female births. That does not turn ordinary nausea into a test: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(99)04239-7/abstract https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(9904239-7/abstract )
Skip the Drano version. The manufacturer lists sodium hydroxide as caustic because the product is meant to dissolve drain clogs: https://whatsinsidescjohnson.com/en-us/brands/drano/clogs/liquid-drain-cleaner
For a real answer, use the screening or ultrasound information from your clinician. Keep the ring-on-a-string for the baby shower.
#education
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