7 myths about predicting your baby's sex

4. The baby is active "If the baby is very active, you're having a boy." Here's yet another theory based on some rather sexist assumptions: males are boisterous while females are placid. What this theory fails to take into account, however, is the fact that the amount of fetal activity that the mother feels is largely a matter of perception. If she's running around at breakneck speed all day, she may fail to pick up on the movements of all but the most energetic of fetal kickboxers!

5. Cravings "If you're craving sweets, you're having a girl. If you're craving salt, you're having a boy." While it would be convenient if you could rely on your craving for chocolate as proof positive that there's a baby girl on the way, there's no hard evidence that cravings are linked to the gender of your baby. In fact, the jury's still out on whether cravings exist at all! So don't count on your cravings -- real or imagined -- to tell you whether to buy pink or blue.

6. Pendulum or circle swing "If a wedding ring or needle suspended over your belly moves in a strong circular motion, you're having a girl. If it moves to and fro like a pendulum, you're having a boy." This particular method of predicting the gender of your baby works much like a ouija board. Micro-muscle tremors over which you have no control cause the ring to move in a particular direction -- a sensation that can be spooky to say the least, but that doesn't tell you a thing about the gender of your baby.

7. The Chinese conception chart "The Chinese conception chart can tell you if you're having a boy or a girl." The Chinese conception chart -- the brainchild of a 13th century scientist -- claims to be able to help you to predict the gender of the baby by linking your age and the month of conception to the gender of the baby. While it has a reputation for being highly accurate in China, it simply hasn't been able to stand up to the same scrutiny here in North America.

So if these myths are consistently off the mark, why do we keep turning to them again and again? According to the experts, there are two factors at work: the fact that you've got a 50/50 chance of being right each time you predict your baby's gender and the fact that you're more likely to remember your successes than your failures! Their advice? If one of these "tests" convinces you to load up on pink frilly dresses, be sure to keep the receipt!