Babys heartbeat- Like a train for a boy and galloping like a horse for a girl!

Skittlespink

I was at my doctor this morning ( im 17 weeks ) and got to hear the heartbeat via Doppler. All was good and she commented that it sounded like a train ( slow and steady) compared to a galloping heartbeat (like a horse) which would mean a girl. Therefore she concluded I was having a boy. She admitted herself that this was an old wives tale and that she a medical professional should be saying it but it was always fun to have a guess and a laugh! I didn't mind but it put me thinking as I do remember my first baby's heartbeat at this stage being fast and galloping ( and she turned out a girl!)

Anyway my question is ..Does anyone feel there is any truth in it? or have any experiences where it proved to be right? Just asking for fun.!!!

crazy cat lady

It's not an exact science but there is certainly truth in it. I haven't worked as a clinical midwife for a while but from my experience you can certainly make a good guess based on what the heartbeat sounds like.

Das Kitty

Both mine sounded like horses, both boys.

Sure sounds of horses galloping and sounds of distant trains are very flipping similar. It could depend on the doppler even.

Personally I think it's a load of old rubbish.

greenorchard

I first heard the heartbeat at around 13/14 weeks. Had never heard anything about horses or trains at the time & the first thing I said when I heard the heartbeat was that it sounded just like a horse galloping. I'm 20 weeks now & was at the doctor today & it was slower & more train-like so take from that what you will

Dolbert

Another galloping horse boy here.

Ginny

it also depends when its taken, there has been scientific studies done and afair it turned out to be false.
I have a boy and am currently pregnant with a boy and their heart rates are very different.

teggers5

About as accurate as guessing the sex by the shape of bump.
Apparently my bump was definitely a girl and heartbeat sounded like a horse but I had a boy!
When you think about it, there's a 50/50 chance of getting it right

Rose35

I think instinct is usually spot on, has been for some women I know, I knew I was having a boy instinctively,.
Back to the topic, I had a train sounding hearbeat and had a boy.................
I say go with the gut instinct

Woshy

I had a boy last time and am having a girl this time and the heartbeats sound the same - I wouldn't place much faith in it tbh!

DavyD_83

we definitely had a horse girl

seventeen sheep

I *think* I remember reading that boys heartbeats are in fact very slightly slower than girls heartbeats.

I wouldn't for a second believe that the gender could be determined in this way though, or even a decent educated guess made, not even by a highly trained medical profession.

I was often told that different things (morning sickness, the shape of my bump, heartburn or lack of it, etc) meant I was having a girl or a boy ... The only opinion I cared about was that of the midwife doing the ultrasound! I get that it's fun for some people to guess though. I just wasn't into it.

(For the record, lots of morning sickness, small high bump, no heartburn, barely detectable heartbeat, and I had a boy.)

seventeen sheep

teggers5 wrote: »

About as accurate as guessing the sex by the shape of bump.
Apparently my bump was definitely a girl and heartbeat sounded like a horse but I had a boy!
When you think about it, there's a 50/50 chance of getting it right

Here's the way I'd see it.

Say if you have a sample of 100 pregnant women, half pregnant with girls, half pregnant with boys. A midwife listens to every heartbeat, and based on the sound of it, tells half of the women that they are having girls, the other half that they are having boys. It works out that 25 of the 50 pregnant with boys are told that they are having boys, the other 25 that they are having girls. And 25 of the 50 pregnant with girls are told they are having boys, the other 25 that they are having girls.

A few weeks later, they all have gender scans and find out the actual sex of their baby.

Those for whom the heartbeat predication happened to be correct - it is a lot more likely to stick with them. When talking about pregnancy gender myths, they'll recall that this was perfectly accurate for them - that the midwife correctly figured out the gender by listening to the heartbeat. Whereas those for whom it wasn't correct, they're a lot more likely to forget about that particular myth, but perhaps they'll remember how it was "correct" that they had lots of morning sickness and did indeed have a boy, or whatever.

So of the 100 women, you have maybe 60 that don't care either way. 30 women that go around telling other pregnant women that the train/horse theory was totally correct for them. And 10 women that go around telling other pregnant women that it was wrong for them. And the other pregnant women are noticing that 3 out of 4 pregnant women that mention it found it to be correct to them. (Whereas in fact the statistics are just skewed by a sort of a positive bias.)

Same could apply to any of the myths about pregnancy predictions.

I'd be great craic at a baby shower. :pac:

Ms2011

Woshy wrote: »

I had a boy last time and am having a girl this time and the heartbeats sound the same - I wouldn't place much faith in it tbh!

Same as, no difference whatsoever!!