There are so many unknowns in pregnancy and parenthood; it makes sense that parents would want to learn as much as they can to prepare. And that includes learning the baby's sex before it's born. Although some parents may choose to keep that a surprise until delivery day, the overwhelming majority want to know — and they want to know ASAP. Throughout history that's led to a lot of old wives' tales for predicting a baby's sex through all kinds of crazy ways.

Dr. Dallas Reed, chief of genetics at Tufts Medical Center and principal medical adviser at Myriad Genetics, spoke with Mom.com about these old wives' tales and what the best way to determine a baby's sex really is.

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I look up from my work as a gaggle of my middle school students barge into my classroom and line up like a team of teenage vigilantes, fists on hips, chins raised defiantly.

“Mrs. Kibbie,” addresses their leader, “have you found out yet?”

“Guys, I told you — I don’t know the gender of the baby.”

My ears are assaulted by a chorus of seriously’s and are you kidding me’s.

“I thought your husband knew,” another accuses me. “You said last time he knew and he ended up telling you.”

“Yeah, last time he found out and it was supposed to be a secret from me,” I replied, sticking my pen in my hair bun. “And he lasted about 12 hours.”

“OK, but it’s been weeks. Hasn’t he cracked yet?”

“To his credit, no,” I laughed to another cacophony of groans. “I’m not going to find out until the birth.”

“Kibbie, COME ON!”

The post Apparently, Choosing Not to Find Out My Baby’s Gender Is Pissing Everyone Else Off appeared first on Mom.com.

Although a sonogram can indicate your baby's gender with up to 95 percent accuracy, most folklore relating to determining your baby's gender is just that — folklore. Your baby's position and rate of heart beat, as well as your pregnancy symptoms, probably won't give you clues about your baby's gender, although your intuition might. Use gender-determining myths as a fun game, but don't put too much stock in them. Skip any methods that may be dangerous.

RELATED: The Extremes of Gender Selection

Pregnancy Symptoms

Pregnancy symptoms, such as heartburn, maternal dietary cravings or hair growth, aren't predictive of the sex of your baby, says pediatrician Harry L. Broome Jr., from Phoenix Arizona. These symptoms are more likely to be influenced by diet, stress or your individual response to pregnancy.

The One Exception

Although the sex of your baby probably won't play a role in minor bouts of nausea, moms carrying a girl are more likely to experience severe morning sickness in the first trimester, according to a 2004 study by University of Washington researchers. According to the study, women hospitalized for severe nausea, or hyperemesis gravidarum, in the first trimester were 50 percent more likely to have a girl. Women hospitalized for three or more days were most likely to have a girl. Researchers believe higher levels of estrogen are responsible for the increased rate of severe morning sickness in moms who are expecting girls.

The Baby

You may have heard that the rate of the baby's heartbeat can help determine whether you're having a boy or girl. Another myth is that moms expecting a boy carry the baby low while moms expecting a girl carry the baby high. Sometimes this myth is reversed. None of these indicators are accurate, advised Broome, although male babies tend to weigh about 3 ounces more than females, and moms carrying boys are more likely to deliver via cesarean section.

RELATED: Old Wives' Tales to Guess a Baby's Gender

Mom's Intuition

Turns out that aside from a sonogram, mom's intuition is one of the most reliable methods for determining whether to buy pink or blue. A 1998 study published by the University of Arizona found that 70 percent of women who had a feeling about the sex of their baby were right. A 1999 study at Johns Hopkins University found similar results. Women who had dreams about the sex of their baby tended to have the most accurate results.

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