Predicting the birth of your baby can be a fun and exciting thing. However, there's no scientific way to predict it.
The timing of delivery is crucial to the health of your baby. Doctors are looking for ways to predict the time of delivery accurately to better manage women who are at risk of preterm or postterm birth, and improve outcomes.
The Nub Theory
The Nub Theory is a method that may be able to predict your baby's gender before they're born. Using an ultrasound scan, it focuses on the angle of your baby's genital tubercle. This little nub is known as the “nub” and will eventually become a penis in male babies or a clitoris in female babies.
Until about 13 weeks, both boys and girls have a penis-like genital tubercle that looks similar on an ultrasound. But once that genital tubercle begins to develop, experts believe you can tell whether it's going to turn into a penis or clitoris by looking at the way it points on an ultrasound.
In a boy, the nub points upwards towards their head and in a girl it points downwards toward their feet. It's also possible to compare your baby's genital tubercle to the line of their spine, which is called the “lumbosacral skin surface.”
This line runs from their tailbone down to the bottom part of their spine, near their butt. To determine your baby's genital tubercle's angle on an ultrasound, the technician must capture a clear profile of your baby in the ultrasound so you can see their full length of their spine.
If you're a boy, your nub is supposed to point upwards 30 degrees or more in relation to the line of their spine. In a girl, the nub is supposed to be parallel or less than 30 degrees from the spine.
Several studies have shown that the accuracy of this gender prediction is between 98% and 100%, depending on how it's done. But it's important to keep in mind that this is not a medically proven method of predicting your baby's sex, so it's best to consult an OB/GYN or midwife.
The Skull Theory
When you're pregnant, you're bound to get a bit curious about your baby's sex. You've probably heard plenty of old wives' tales that predict whether you're having a boy or girl, but are these actually any good?
One of the most popular gender prediction methods is the skull theory. It claims that the size and shape of a baby's head can tell you its gender.
The idea is that boys' skulls tend to be bigger, broader and more angular than females' skulls. They also have a larger brow ridge and a squarer jaw.
But even though skull theory is a fun little game, it doesn't have the same level of scientific backing as other gender predictions. In fact, Dr Killgrove, who specializes in bioarchaeology–the study of ancient bones–says there is ‘no meaningful scientific evidence of it being meaningfully accurate'.
Another option is the nub theory, which uses a small ‘nub' that forms between the legs of both girls and boys during their early weeks in the womb to predict their sex. This can be done as early as your 12 week scan, although it's not offered on the NHS so will need to be paid for privately.
The only downside to this is that the baby's skull won't have fully formed yet so it can be tricky to determine their gender in the early stages of pregnancy. However, some experts say it can be up to 98 per cent accurate and you'll be able to see your baby's head as early as 11 weeks into your pregnancy. It's a great way to keep an eye on your baby as you wait for the results from your 20-week anatomy scan.
The Mayan System
The Mayan System is an ancient method of predicting the birth of your baby based on the age of the mother and the year she conceived. If both of these numbers are even, it’s likely that you’re having a girl; if they’re odd, the chances are good that you’ll be having a boy.
The Maya were one of the first cultures to develop a system of representing numbers and calendar dates. They used a vigesimal (base-20) number system. This meant that all numbers up to 19 were written in a non-place-value notation, and only larger numbers had a place-value component.
Another important aspect of the Mayan number system was that they understood the value of zero. This was a significant advance in mathematics because the concept of zero allowed them to represent and manipulate large numbers without needing to write out the numbers themselves.
This led to a lot of advancements in mathematics and astronomy. They also made use of the zero in their calendars and calendar cycles, which helped them track the changes in astronomical movements.
In addition, the Mayans used a system of glyphs to represent numbers and date digits. They did this using three symbols; a dot for 1, a bar for five, and a shell for zero.
The Mayan system of writing numbers was incredibly simple and efficient. Unlike the Greeks who used words instead of numerals to represent numbers, the Maya had the ability to represent a number with just three symbols. This was a huge advantage in dealing with numbers and time periods on the Long Count calendar.
The Uterus Theory
The uterus is a large pear-shaped organ in the pelvic cavity that is used to house a fetus during pregnancy. It also contains the cervix, which is a hole that allows sperm to enter and menstrual blood to exit. It's surrounded by the ovaries.
Throughout history, people have believed that the uterus could move about a woman's body and cause problems. This concept was called the ‘wandering uterus' and was supported by medical texts written in Greece and Europe throughout the centuries.
Ancient Greek doctors prescribed remedies to coax the womb back to its proper place, such as rubbing honey on the vagina and chewing cloves of garlic. They also believed that a displaced uterus could obstruct the flow of menstrual blood and cause headaches, pain, and other health issues.
In addition, ancient Greek physicians were concerned that hysteria, the condition that causes women to become extremely anxious, irritable, or depressed, was caused by the movement of a displaced uterus. This idea was first attested in the Hippocratic corpus and Plato's Timaeus, and was firmly rooted in popular medical thought for centuries.
Today, some doctors still believe that the uterus can move around a woman's body. Whether or not the theory is true, it's interesting that we still hear about it. Another intriguing idea that came from ancient Greece is the “hysterical suffocation” theory, which says that if the uterus moves forwards it will obstruct the flow of a woman's menstrual blood. Similarly, if the uterus moves upwards it will block the passage of a woman's breath. Despite these claims, the wandering uterus was never proven to be a cause of hysteria or any other symptoms.
The Spider Theory
The Spider Theory is one of the most popular gender prediction methods that uses an ultrasound photo. The method claims that if you look closely at the nub between your baby’s legs, it should be pointing up or horizontal. This method is not as accurate as other methods, but it is a fun way to predict your baby’s gender!
Scientists have been looking into how fear of spiders, snakes, heights and strangers emerges in infants. They have set up a variety of experiments to see how this fear is shaped and emerged. However, much of this research has been flawed and has led to a number of faulty conclusions.
In a recent study, researchers were able to find out what actually happens in the brains of babies when they are exposed to spiders and snakes. They found that even at six months of age, the babies showed signs of a fear response to these animals.
They also found that when babies saw pictures of spiders and snakes, their pupils enlarged significantly. This was compared to when they were shown pictures of flowers and fish, and the results showed that the images of spiders and snakes caused the babies’ pupils to dilate more than the other animals.
It is thought that this phenomenon could be a form of natural selection that helped humans avoid dangerous creatures such as spiders and snakes. The idea is that when we were a part of an ecosystem that included these creatures, they were likely to be a source of disease and predators that threatened our survival.
It is a theory that fans believe makes sense in light of the many symbiotes in the Marvel Multiverse, and it also offers a way to explain why Venom reacts so strangely when he sees Peter Parker on screen. It also suggests that the hive mind consciousness of the symbiotes is why they can recall past versions of themselves and remember certain events.