Some myths just keep popping up when it comes to pregnancy. The most pervasive myths tend to be related to gender prediction and it’s not surprising: “girl or boy” is on every pregnant woman’s mind. Predictors include everything from suspending a pencil over the pregnant woman’s belly to which side of the bed she sleep on. These types of myths are easily debunked, but there are a few that seem plausible. One in particular is the correlation between morning sickness and gender. Does the presence or strength of morning sickness predict gender?
There are those that are quick to say yes, morning sickness is always stronger with a boy, or it lasts longer when you’re having a girl. It’s easy to find anecdotal “evidence” in pregnancy forums. Fifty percent of the time, everybody’s right. But in this case, when consistent accuracy is key, the multiple exceptions disprove the rule. There’s no need to do an official medical study since there are plenty of women who will quickly admit that their own pregnancies proved this to be a myth. Morning sickness is triggered by hormones, and it may vary from pregnancy to pregnancy, even if a woman gives birth to all girls or all boys. Personally I know women who had terrible morning sickness with one pregnancy, and no sickness with another, and the babies were the same gender!
The strength of morning sickness may not have anything to do with the gender of the baby, but it might signify a multiple pregnancy (though not always.) More babies does equal more hormones, which could intensify morning sickness. Of course, as with gender, the only way to confirm a multiple pregnancy is with an ultrasound – or birth. Because morning sickness is triggered by increasing hormones, it can also be the sign of a healthy pregnancy. For that reason, sometimes morning sickness is a welcome sign that things are going well, particularly early on. Fortunately for most women, morning sickness wears off after the first trimester.
Just for fun: did you experience morning sickness? Did you have a boy or a girl?