How to determine the sex of a child by heartbeat: methodology and reliability

In the first moments after receiving the happy news about pregnancy, a woman does not think about the sex of her unborn baby. But very soon she begins to be tormented by curiosity: Who will be born a boy or a girl? And this is where fortune telling on coffee grounds begins - all sorts of methods and signs are used. It is believed that the easiest way to determine the sex of a child is by the heartbeat. So which method is the most accurate?

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When does fetal heartbeat occur?

The process of heart formation begins in the fourth week of pregnancy and is a rather complex process. In the early stages, its rudiment looks like a hollow tube, and only by the eighth week does it become similar to a human heart. In the fifth week it begins to contract, but the beating cannot yet be heard without special equipment. Listening during this period is only possible during an ultrasound examination using a transvaginal sensor. By the seventh week, you can hear the fetal heartbeat when performing an ultrasound with a transabdominal probe (through the abdominal wall). And only from the 20th week the fetal heartbeat is listened to with a stethoscope.

What parameters are being studied?

During listening, determine:

• heart rate (HR);
• fetal heartbeat pattern;
• rhythm.

Heart rate norms

This indicator changes by week, and the values ​​​​indicated in the table (in beats/min.) are considered normal:

Rapid heartbeat (from 200 beats per minute) or, conversely, rare (up to 100) are signs of pathologies. In this case, additional examination and treatment is required.

The nature of the heart contraction

The fetal heartbeat should be clear. Dull and weak sounds may be a sign of acute or chronic oxygen deficiency.

Rhythm

Normally, heart contractions should be rhythmic. Arrhythmia is a sign of defects or acute/chronic hypoxia.

Truth or Myth

American scientists have found that calculating gender based on heartbeat has a right to exist. The Americans received the following indicators: a boy was identified in 90% of cases, a girl in 70%.

However, studies conducted after this refuted the fact of the relationship between gender and heart rate (HR). Medical professionals consider this test to be uninformative, although the percentage of matches is quite high.

• Gender of baby based on heartbeat at 12 weeks. Determining sex by fetal heartbeat

In any case, checking the result obtained using this method with reality is easy and absolutely harmless. Following the reviews of many women, the information received quite often coincides with reality. Below watch a video on the interesting topic of myths.

Why listen to the fetal heartbeat?

1. To confirm the fact of pregnancy. When first contacting a doctor about a possible pregnancy, a woman is sent for an ultrasound. Usually at this stage you can already hear the heart of the unborn baby beating. If it is absent while there is a fertilized egg in the uterus, this is not a reason to worry. As a rule, a heartbeat can be heard after a week. But if it never appears, and the egg is deformed, this is a sign of a frozen pregnancy, which means its termination is required.
2. To assess the general condition of the unborn child. Diseases, physical or emotional stress of the mother, the oxygen content in the air that the woman breathes at the moment, the activity or resting phase of the fetus - all this affects the heartbeat, and its changes are short-term. A high fetal heart rate that persists for a long time is a sign of chronic placental insufficiency, that is, a violation of the blood supply to the fetus. A drop in heart rate below normal also indicates a deterioration in the condition of the unborn child. Treatment will depend on the stage of pregnancy. In some cases, emergency delivery is necessary.
3. To monitor the condition of the child and record parameters during childbirth. Monitoring is necessary due to the fact that the baby goes through serious trials during birth (compression, lack of oxygen). Most often, the heart and blood vessels cope with the load, but sometimes situations arise that require urgent medical attention (placental abruption, the umbilical cord is pinched). In order not to miss signs of acute fetal hypoxia, the heartbeat is measured during all contractions.

Medical techniques

Each person independently chooses for himself how to determine the gender of his unborn child. Traditional medicine is guided by evidence-based principles that have a clear rationale. These methods guide doctors when there are medical indications for determining the sex of a child.

What methods of sex determination are practiced:

1. Cordocentesis (study of the chromosomal composition of umbilical cord blood).
2. Microsort (selection of sperm of a certain type, female or male, for IVF).
3. Amniocentesis (study of chromosome composition in amniotic fluid).
4. Biopsy to obtain chorionic villus (genetic analysis of part of the placenta).

These methods are used if necessary. Some of them are associated with a high risk for pregnancy.

Listening methods

Ultrasonography

An ultrasound allows you not only to hear the heartbeat, but also to visually assess the size of the unborn baby and the condition of the placenta. They listen with special care to the tones and examine the structure of the heart of the unborn child if the woman has developmental defects or previous children were born with heart and vascular defects, as well as if the expectant mother suffered infectious diseases during pregnancy.

Ultrasound is the very first study that is performed in the early stages of pregnancy to determine the number of fetal heartbeats

In the second and third trimesters, during an ultrasound, the heart rate and location of the heart of the unborn child, the structure of the atria and ventricles, and the presence of congenital defects are determined.

CTG (cardiotocography)

The device used to conduct the study is a sensor that sends a signal to the fetal heart. He detects the opposite and records the result on film. In addition to the main ultrasound sensor, another one is installed, which records the contractions of the uterus and shows the degree of its activity. The new devices are equipped with fetal movement sensors, which the expectant mother can record herself.

CTG is considered a harmless and very informative method. With its help, it is possible to detect oxygen starvation in the early stages of development. The procedure lasts about an hour, which allows you to catch both the fetal activity phase and the sleep phase. If necessary, sensors can be installed on the pregnant woman’s stomach for a day.

CTG is performed twice during pregnancy - at 32 weeks. and just before childbirth. Before 32 weeks. There is no point in doing cardiotocography, since the results are not informative. Only after 31-32 weeks. there is a connection between the heartbeat of the unborn baby and his motor activity.

The CTG result is considered good if the heart rate is within the normal range; when the fetus moves, it increases, and there is no decrease in heart beats.

The result is considered bad if fetal hypoxia is detected, which is the most common cause of heart rate deviation from normal. With a lack of oxygen, the fetal heart begins to beat faster, and the number of its contractions per minute increases. A deviation from the norm is a decrease in heart rate when the child moves or during contractions.

Changes on the device's tape appear if the umbilical cord is pressed against the bones or head of the fetus, while the condition of the fetus is normal. Another reason for poor results is incorrect installation of sensors.

The results obtained using CTG must be confirmed by studies using other methods. Only then is treatment prescribed or, if necessary, emergency delivery performed.

Repeated CTG is indicated in the following cases:

• with delayed fetal development;
• with oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios;
• for late toxicosis;
• for chronic diseases of the pregnant woman and infections occurring with increased temperature;
• with premature aging of the placenta;
• for scars on the uterus after surgery;
• when going through pregnancy.

Echocardiography

The study is most informative in the period from 18 to 28 weeks. It is prescribed only when heart defects are detected or if there is suspicion of their development. The main indications include:

• congenital defects in a pregnant woman;
• heart defects in previously born children;
• diabetes mellitus in a expectant mother;
• pregnancy after 38 years;
• infections in women;
• defects in the child in other organs;
• delayed development of the unborn baby in the womb.

Echocardiography allows you to study the structure of the heart, as well as blood flow in each of its parts. During the procedure, different scanner modes are used: two-dimensional ultrasound, one-dimensional, Doppler ultrasound

Auscultation

This method involves listening to the heartbeat of the unborn child with an obstetric stethoscope.

This method is also used during childbirth (listening every 20 minutes).

The fetal heartbeat is listened to through the abdominal wall while the woman lies on the couch. First of all, attention is paid to parameters that reflect the condition of the fetus:

• rhythm;
• frequency;
• character (clear, muted, dull tones);
• point where tones are best heard.

The position of the unborn child is determined according to the place of best listening:

• below the mother's navel - cephalic presentation;
• at the level of the navel - transverse presentation;
• above the navel – breech presentation.

Auscultation is difficult if the volume of amniotic fluid is too large or, conversely, too small, if the woman is overweight, if the placenta is located on the anterior wall of the reproductive organ.

During multiple pregnancy, heartbeats are heard in different parts of the uterus after 24 weeks.

You can read about how to listen to the fetal heartbeat at home here.

This device is a tube with a wide funnel. Used no earlier than the 20th week, sometimes from the 18th

Ultrasound

The most common diagnostic method, with the help of which a lot of useful information about fetal development is learned. Ultrasound is performed several times during pregnancy. At about twenty weeks, it is already possible to clearly determine the sex of the child. However, due to the position of the fetus, sometimes it is not immediately possible to see the genitals.

I usually suggest that parents wait a little, since there is a chance that the child will turn around and the long-awaited answer can be obtained at a repeat ultrasound. Ultrasound machines are constantly being improved, new techniques are emerging, and therefore the quality of diagnosis is also improving.

Heartbeat pathologies and their causes

Tachycardia

Rapid heartbeat in the fetus (over 200 beats per minute) can have several causes:

• in the early stages – disturbance of placentation (location of the placenta);
• after 12 weeks - reaction to stress of the expectant mother or her own movement, fetal hypoxia;
• during childbirth - acute and chronic hypoxia, reaction to contractions and movements.

Bradycardia

Causes of rare heartbeat (less than 100 beats):

• chronic hypoxia;
• umbilical cord compression;
• during childbirth - compression of the umbilical cord during contractions, chronic or acute hypoxia.

Muffled tones

• In the early stages - a faulty sensor, defects of the cardiovascular system in the fetus, obesity in a pregnant woman.
• After 12 weeks - placental insufficiency, excess weight in a woman, location of the placenta on the anterior wall, heart and vascular defects in the fetus, oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios.
• During childbirth - fetal hypoxia, active contractions.

Can't hear your heartbeat

• In the early stages - the beginning of an abortion, a frozen pregnancy, a faulty sensor.
• After 12 weeks and during childbirth - a faulty sensor or an incorrectly selected listening location, fetal death.