Once you finally score that positive pregnancy test, you immediately begin to wonder: Is it a boy or a girl? It can be nearly impossible to wait until your big ultrasound! For this reason, there are scores of early gender predictor tests and wives’ tales out there. Some are pretty funny, like the swinging wedding ring. Others can’t be done until much later in pregnancy, like looking at the way your belly is shaped. But fear not, because we’re here to tell you about the baking soda gender test. It’s simple, it’s inexpensive, and best of all, it’s at least somewhat scientifically based like the Shettles method.
In the baking soda gender test, you mix urine and baking soda to test for a reaction. If the mixture fizzes like a beer when it’s combined, you may need to break out the blue. But if there is little to no reaction, it may be time to think pink!
Does the baking soda gender test work? Maybe… and maybe not. The thought is that the pregnancy hormones in your urine cause it to react with the baking soda differently for each gender due to the difference in pH (girl is acidic, while boy is alkaline).
Plus, you know you’ve got some baking soda in the back of your fridge, and it’s totally calling your name!
How Early Can You Do The Baking Soda Gender Test?
Because the baking soda gender test is not an official way to determine the sex of your baby, but rather a safe and fun way to make an early prediction, there is no definitive time when it can be performed. You can try it as early as you want! However, levels of the pregnancy hormone HCG tend to peak around 10 weeks of pregnancy, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
Performing the baking soda test for gender around the end of your first trimester would probably be the best idea. In fact, many women who have performed the test earlier than this have reported flip-flopping results, lending more credence to the 10-week mark.
How To Perform The Baking Soda Gender Test
It’s incredibly simple and inexpensive to perform the baking soda test for gender. The most important thing to remember is to make sure the urine you use is collected first thing in the morning. Here’s what you do:
- Gather urine in a cup.
- Pour two tablespoons of fresh baking soda into a separate cup.
- Set the cup with baking soda on a flat countertop in a well-lit room.
- Pour urine into the baking soda (just enough to cover the baking soda).
- Check your results! Fizzing means a boy, while no reaction signals a girl.
Is The Baking Soda Test Accurate?
Although the baking soda test has worked for many women, there seem to be just as many out there who got an incorrect result. Unfortunately, while these gender prediction tests are fun, they all seem to have similar results when it comes to accuracy: 50/50. That’s right, there’s either a boy or a girl in there, and for the most part you’ll have to wait for your mid-pregnancy ultrasound to confirm whether the baking soda gender prediction test was correct for you.
According to Dr. Deborah Weatherspoon on Healthline, "Despite their popularity, [gender prediction kits] are generally not accurate….Urine pH is affected most by diet and not by anything related to the fetus."
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try, right? How in the world do some people wait the whole time to find out?!
Here at LittleThings, we’re conducting our very own survey to see how accurate the baking soda gender test is. Let us know in the comments how it works for you.
Other Gender Tests You Can Try
There are lots of other gender tests you can do along with the baking soda gender test. Just be sure to use common sense. One test requires mixing urine with Drano, which can emit noxious fumes — no thanks!
Other popular gender predictor tests are the Mayan calendar test, which is based on even or odd numbers; the red-cabbage test, which is similar to the baking soda test; and the Chinese gender prediction chart.
So, did you cave in and run out for some baking soda? What results did you get from the baking soda gender test?
Be sure to SHARE this article with your friends who are dying to know whether pink or blue is in their future.
