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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to believe this gender predictin old wives tail?

53 replies

cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 21:12

Ovulated from left side the month our dd was conceived.

old wives tale says left for girl, right for boy but dr friends think that is rubbish.

who is right?

OP posts:
Gunpowder · 16/05/2015 22:09

That's interesting Pacific, I always assumed it alternated, too, no idea why!

Stinkylinky · 16/05/2015 22:12

I can tell when and which side I'm ovulating from each month, it causes me quite a bit of pain!

Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:14

Can only go by my own experience. Maybe it differs from person to person, and over time?

OP posts:
Monstersinthegarden · 16/05/2015 22:16

I had heard of ovulation pains but had no idea it was so localised that you could tell which ovary it was!

I have heard that you are more likely to have a girl if you conceive right after ovulation and a boy if you conceive a few days after (or might be the other way around, can't remember. Something to do with one type of sperm being faster swimmers but the other type living longer.

Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:18

Because, as with most things, there is usually "a grain of truth" in these pieces of advice handed down over the years!

OP posts:
Vivacia · 16/05/2015 22:28

Well, ok, but what grain of truth were you considering possible??

PacificDogwood · 16/05/2015 22:30

Like the grain of truth in 'if you have lots of heartburn in pregnancy, your baby will be ginger'?

Nope, not all tales have any truth to them IME.

Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:35

Nope, like "if you have lots of heartburn in pregnancy, your baby will have a full head of hair"!!!

Am beginning to think their could be
regional variations - never heard the heartburn/ginger one.

OP posts:
Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:36

And yes, the hearturn/hairy baby one was true for us!

OP posts:
PacificDogwood · 16/05/2015 22:39

Well, my heartburn baby was bald as a coot and is now darkish-blond/light brown Grin

Studies with sample sizes of 1 just don't prove anything Wink

eurochick · 16/05/2015 22:41

I can feel ov and definitely alternate sides. This has been confirmed through many monitored cycles for fertility investigations and treatment. I also ov on different days for each side (day 14 right side, day 16 left side).

Grantaire · 16/05/2015 22:43

I know from which side I'm ovulating. I too have around 6hrs of discomfort. It's a bruised, constipated, bloated pressure with the peak being actual ovulation which is a little sharper and one-sided. It doesn't alternate for me. It's pretty random tbh.

The only old wives' tale which has ever shown to have a better rate of prediction than chance is women's intuition and even then it's still not overwhelmingly accurate.

Lots of old wives' tales are based on theory or misunderstandings of basic science. From conception to labour. Like pineapple or curry or sex to start labour. All nonsense too.

Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:47

Fair point PacificDogwood!

It's all good fun though Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
cantbelieveimonhere · 16/05/2015 22:59

Time to hit the hay, night all Smile

OP posts:
Daimgirl · 16/05/2015 23:41

Yes as said above you can't predict which side you'll ovulate from.

And once that follicle starts to mature it normally prevents others doing the same that's why any form of treatment needs monitoring. Hyper stimulation can be very dangerous.

The thing that freaks me out in a good way IYKWIM is that you where born with all your eggs all ready there.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 16/05/2015 23:49

I don't believe it myself. The sex is determined by the man as we all know, so how would which side you ovulate from make a difference. Every egg is female until it's conceived the gender is determined on wether an y spermicide meets the egg (boy) or x sperm (girl). Anyway I don't think anyone needs a biology lesson. Also how do you know which side you ovulate from.
Now how true this is I don't know but apparently when we're first conceived we're all female, not sure for his long mind, they say that's why men have nipples.
I know what does work though the pendulum test. If it goes side to side or backwards and forwards it'll be a girl if it goes around in a circle it'll be a boy. I've never known it to wrong.

Vivacia · 17/05/2015 05:48

Anyway I don't think anyone needs a biology lesson

Let's not be too hasty about that.

CherryLips1980 · 17/05/2015 06:38

Vivacia
Grin Grin

Focusfocus · 17/05/2015 07:39

Christ. Really.

I can always tell which ovary I ovulate from because I get the sharp pain. As expected it was confirmed at am early scan that I did ovulate from left as I thought.

The foetus in my uterus currently, is a male foetus.

Sex is dependent on the sperm. Sperm can be male or female. Eggs are sexless. The sex is determined by whichever sperm the egg meets.

As for nub theory - my 12 week scan showed the flattest nub ever, couldn't have been more parallel to spine and even dipping.

At 16 weeks we saw a penis and two testicles.

Focusfocus · 17/05/2015 07:43

And I can't help but say with regard to the title of this thread - old wives generally tend to not have tails. Human old wives that is. But what do I know.

ThursdayLast · 17/05/2015 07:49

of course maybe these things can all predict gender. I was talking about the sex.

But no, I don't think that really, it's all utter rot Grin

PacificDogwood · 17/05/2015 07:53

Just for the record:

  • From when the egg first becomes fertilised, the embryo is either male or female. We do NOT all start out female.
  • The Egg is not 'sexless', it carries the female X-chromosome. It cannot determine sex as it is always the X. A semen cell carries either and X or a Y chromosome so determines the sex of the embryo.

Here endeth the biology lesson Grin

And I will not comment on pendulas….

Gunpowder · 17/05/2015 08:43

Wasn't it Galen who said that whatever came from the left testis/ovary was uncleansed and female, whatever came from the right side was purer and male, so maybe that's where the old wives tale came from originally?

He also thought that all foetuses should end up male, but some 'imperfect' ones that weren't exposed to sufficient heat ended up as female. I think this was generally believed until the C16. Shock

TTWK · 17/05/2015 08:53

Well, ok, but what grain of truth were you considering possible??

I guess the fact that the theory has an accuracy rate of 50%! Wink

YouMakeMyHeartSmile · 17/05/2015 08:56

My friend with one ovary has 2 girls and a boy... How would you explain that OP?

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