How can you tell the sex of your unborn baby? Carrying high or carrying low? Fetal heart rate fast or slow? Shape of your face, or the color of your urine mixed with Drano? Predicting the sex of your unborn baby is science, so which baby gender myths really work?

When a woman becomes pregnant, she and the baby’s father will probably spend a good deal of time speculating about the baby’s gender, with some help from their well-meaning friends and family members, of course. Most expectant parents do wonder about it, and many people will be ready to share with them the secrets of how to predict the sex of an unborn baby. There are many baby gender tests you can perform at home, some of which actually may sound like scientifically based methods of determining baby gender.

The fetal heart rate of the unborn child was once considered even by medical professionals as a good way of predicting the sex of an unborn baby. As modern technology advanced, however, making data collection and analysis more feasible, large scale studies have concluded that there is no correlation between fetal heart rate and whether your baby will be born a Jack or a Jill. And so this once believed sure fire method became just another baby gender myth, moving from medically accepted to being an old wives’ tale.

Another old wives’ tale for predicting the sex of an unborn baby is to observe the shape and size of the mother’s breasts. If the left breast is larger than the right one, then they say you will have a girl. True or not, it may prove useful to have your mate help you with this test.

The shape of the face is also considered to be significant in predicting baby gender. If your face takes on a more rounded shape during pregnancy, then again –according to this myth- you are likely to have a girl.

Some people swear by the Drano test, which is a rather dangerous test and really shouldn’t be used. This test depends upon mixing a sample of the mother’s urine with a bit of Crystal Drano, and seeing what color the resulting caustic mixture turns. Noxious fumes are produced, and there is a great deal of disagreement regarding what color corresponds to which sex. There are many more safe and enjoyable ways to try and predict the sex of an unborn baby than this. I recommend leaving this method alone.

Extra hairy legs? Aha! You’re having a girl. Acne? Girl. Bloodshot eyes and nosebleeds are said to also predict a girl. If the father of the baby gains alot of weight during the pregnancy, then it's a girl. All these awful things predict the coming of a female, but the next one sounds more accurate. If you’re craving sweets you’re going to have girl. Craving sour or spicy foods is said to predict a boy.

You could try dangling the wedding ring on a chain or string –or even a length of the mother’s hair- over her belly. If the ring swings in a clockwise motion, that indicates that a girl is on the way, while counterclockwise indicates a boy.

A variation of the above uses a needle or pin suspended on thread above the expectant mother’s wrist or stomach instead. A back and forth motion means she’s having a boy, while a circular or spinning motion means the baby will be a girl.

There is the Chinese gender prediction chart, an ancient chart said to have been found in a tomb, which uses the mother’s age and the month of conception to predict the sex of an unborn baby. You could also consult a psychic.

If the mother has a dark line running down her belly, which is known as a linea nigra, then there is about a fifty percent chance that she will have a boy. If the baby is more active in the womb then there is a fifty percent chance that it will be a girl. The logic there is that boys are more lazy.

One of the most popular baby gender myths depends on whether the expectant mother is carrying the baby high or low in her belly. Carried high they predict the sex is female, carried lower or more sideways, they predict a male. While pregnant with my first child, I recall having two store clerks at a shop I frequented arguing over whether the baby I carried would be a girl or a boy. One clerk was certain the baby would be a girl since I was carrying the child high in my stomach. The other clerk insisted that my face wasn’t round enough. It would be a boy, she was sure.

The simple truth is that every home method of predicting the sex of an unborn baby has a fifty percent chance to be right, and a fifty percent chance to be wrong. It will be either a boy or a girl. If you want to know which for certain, medical tests or sonograms are really the only reliable way to find out, although keep in mind that even sonograms or ultrasounds are only about 95% accurate.

It is interesting to learn about these gender prediction tests, and fun to try some of the old ways of predicting the sex of an unborn baby. Sometimes, however, it can become frustrating listening to the contradicting predictions of family and friends. Pregnancy is a joy to all, a celebration of life, in which everyone seems to want to be a part of. Just relax and know that as soon as they place that baby into your arms for the first time, you will love it beyond all reason whether it is a boy or a girl.

You’ll also quickly become sleep deprived and may find yourself moving through life like a zombie for a few weeks, but we’ll worry about that later.