As I always say, once the anxiety of trying to get pregnant passes, then comes the anxiety to find out the baby’s sex! It seems that at no time are we moms ever fully satisfied! That’s why techniques to discover the gender before even 16 weeks of pregnancy have come up. Want to know a few?
Fetal Sexing
One of them is fetal sexing, which aims to investigate the presence of the Y chromosome in the mother’s body through her blood. If it’s present, the baby is likely to be a boy; if not, a little girl is on the way. However, other methods have become popular among expectant mothers, such as the analysis of the fetal tubercle, and more recently, the Ramzi method.
Fetal Tubercle
Verification through the fetal tubercle consists of analyzing the baby’s sex based on the position and shape of the genital tubercle, which can be identified on the nuchal translucency1 ultrasound or from the 12th week of pregnancy onwards. As for the Ramzi method, it involves analyzing the gestational sac and the location of the baby and the yolk sac inside the uterus.
For the Ramzi method to (theoretically) work correctly, the woman must have her first ultrasound, done at a maximum of 6 to 8 weeks of pregnancy. The following factors will be analyzed:
The location of the baby within the gestational sac in relation to the placenta, such that, for a girl, the embryo should be attached on the left side where the future placenta will be. Now, to be considered male, the embryo should be on the right side of the area where the placenta will form. Confusing? A bit, but I think the images might help.
How to Analyze the Ultrasound Image According to the Ramzi Method
If you have an ultrasound from the 6th week, you can check where your baby is located. If it’s on the right of the image, whether at the top or bottom, it doesn’t matter. Some readers compared their scans with images found on the internet, and others managed to interpret them on their own. It’s worth remembering that the result is just a guess2.
Baby’s Position
The Ramzi theory, studied in more than 5,000 pregnant women and which led to the conclusion that the method has some basis, is not 100% effective. We should see the Ramzi method as just a bit of fun and wait to do your shopping only when the sex is confirmed by ultrasound at the 20th or 22nd week.
While having fun with this method—as it makes the wait to discover the baby’s sex easier—take the opportunity to check out suggestions for baby names and start making your own shortlist, no matter which sex it turns out to be. Remember the responsibility that comes with choosing a name and don’t forget to double-check its meaning, origin, and even whether it might have a double meaning. Good luck, and enjoy the adventure that is motherhood!
Important Tip: For pregnant women carrying the greatest love of their lives, it’s important to have an adequate intake of vitamins3, and one in particular is essential: Methylfolate! This is the active form of folic acid and helps prevent possible problems in your baby’s formation and development. You can find out more about Methylfolate here.
