Old Wives Tale - Babies heart rate. Boy or Girl?

[lilmissmummy]

I went to the midwife today and heard our babies heart rate. Now when I told my grandma she said that because the heart rate was over 140 BPM (it was 150BPM) then it is a girl, anything under 140 then it is a boy.

Our 20 week scan is in June so we might find out the sex but just wondered if there was any evidence either way?

In my experience no, was told by my midwife that baby had a fast heart rate over 150 BPM must be a girl she said. I then went on to have a baby boy.

I dont mind either way as I already have one of each and I cant remember what their heart rates were.

My sons heart rate was faster than my daughters x

Midwife said boy from heart rate and I have a lovely baby girl!

Hi lilmiss and congrats on DC3!

I'm due tommorow with DC3!

I asked a similar question a few weeks back as I had been for a scan to check if baby was breech, and told the sonographer that we did not know what we were having, to make sure he didn't give the game away!

Anyhow, he kept the screen away from view but kind of made a big deal out of the BPM being 154?

I wondered what the significance was so googled it and came across the old wives tale you mentioned!

Having asked the great MN community though the general consensus was its a myth!

I've got two boys, and like you it was more of a curiosity in my asking!

Well, I will soon find out and try and update your thread for the stats!

morethemerrier oooh how exciting due tomorrow! Congratulations!!

Hope you find out soon

Thanks for everyones comments so far!

This New Scientist article says no:

old wives' tales

Hi. Asked my MW this and she said it was rubbish. Heartrate slows through pregnancy with most HR being between 130 and 150 boy or girl. My DD was often only in the 130's.

when my waters broke and in my early labour and during my labour every midwife i saw said "oh that's definitely a boy's heartbeat"...and we had a GIRL!

I thought it was all absolute rubbish and it might well be BUT...

with my boy it was train like - a midwife commented. I thought nothing of it as I didn't beleive in it.

Then with my girl, whilst on the moniter in labour i was sitting thinking " that sounds exactly like galloping horses but more than anything It hit me the heart beat sounded so different from what I remembered with my boy

Who knows, it might mean something.

I'm expecting a boy but midwife listened
to heartbeat yesterday and it was 150. I don't think there's anything in it they are bound to get it right 50% of the time lol xx

I think mine have all been around 140. I have two boys and a girl and am pg with a second girl.

o the theory doesn't work for me.

Im having twins and my boy's hb is faster than my girls. However both change form appointment to appointment

I just had to spend a few days in hospital (had a small bleed due to low placenta but hopefully wont happen again). Anyway, I was strapped to the heart monitor for a few times a day where they actually record the heart rate for about 20 minutes. The lowest it went was about 135 and the highest was 165 and it went everywhere in between.

We are definitely having a girl and the higher rates seemed to happen when baby was moving around a lot and she settled again it would go lower. So I don't think there's any truth in the old wives tales, otherwise our baby kept changing from girl to boy and then back again.

I had a checkup on Wednesday (29 weeks) and the baby's heartbeat was 150 + the midwife also mentioned that if I believed in Old Wives Tales (which I hate to admit it but I like to....) then it would seem I was having a girl (although personally I have a feeling it's a boy - don't ask me why though)! Anyway I asked her about any medical research that backs this theory up and she said that apparently baby boys (maybe males in general) have larger chambers of the heart and, therefore, their hearts don't need to beat as fast to pump the same amount of blood around the body hence why their heart rate would be slower than that of a baby girl! I'm not sure if this is true but I am even more excited about getting to the day when I know whether it's a boy or a girl as now I really don't have a clue (although secretly I do still think it's a boy) either way I don't mind as long as she/he is healthy and has all the right bits and pieces in the right places!!!!!!

I hope it's true (as it would mean I'm having a girl - yay!) but I suspect it's b*llocks.

some midwives believe others totally don't. I was told that baby's heart rate was simply double mine!

I was told if it was under 140 it was a boy and this has been right for all 4 of my DC. but it could be luck ?

• and Ive got girls and boys

loving hearing all your stories!

nessmay - its a boy, now a girl, now a boy again etc lol

I will be able to tell you on the 7th June! hopefully!!

Wish I had a record of what my two childrens heart rates were (for scientific reasons of course)

Just popping back in to say that for me the old wives tale was................................................................................................. .....TRUE!!!

I gave birth to a beautiful little girl yesterday morning at 1.40am!

Congrats morethemerrier!!

Congratulations morethemerrier!

Indeed, I've been looking into the science of all this for a story I wrote recently, and a number of studies have found no link between heart rate and sex - except for (weirdly) during labour, when girls' hearts beat faster:

www.newscientist.com/article/dn18827-bumpology-can-old-wives-tales-tell-me-my-baby s-sex.html

It also seems that the most accurate old wives tale is just listening to your gut instinct (female intuition)!

Heart rate was 162 at 16 weeks... And these are his tiny balls.