According to medical science, a pregnancy is first a zygote, then an embryo, then a foetus and only after birth, a baby. But for the hopeful couples, a pregnancy is viewed as a future mother. Studies reveal that 50% of women pregnancy is unplanned. In developing and underdeveloped countries this percentage is more than 90%. That is the reason why they are producing as many children in one year as the total population of some developed countries.

But now more and more educated women are choosing to abort, and in many societies they are supported in their decision. Governments of some countries are also encouraging birth control methods to control the growth of the population.

The units of fertilization contributed by each parent are called Gametes. The male gametes are sperm produced by the testes and the female gametes are eggs, or ova produced by the ovaries. The sex the zygote is determined at the time of fertilization since all ova contain an X-sex chromosome. So, the male sperm is the determining factor. If it contains an X- chromosome, the zygote will be female (XX) but if it contains a Y- chromosome, the zygote will be male (XY).

Although there is no reliable method of ensuring that a baby is of the desired sex, yet folk nostrums and quack remedies abound in many societies because many people would like to choose the sex of their baby. In many societies, boys are usually preferred to girls.

There are some old wives tales to ensure that your baby is either a boy or a girl. Some are a little odd, while some seem as though they may have a bit of truth to them. According to these tales, mothers carrying boys have a high belly. Most of their pregnancy weight will be in the belly if they are carrying boys in their wombs. Mothers carrying girls will report to be pregnant all over with a larger, lower belly.

According to some other tales, the heart rate of the baby is said to be a predictor of gender. The tale goes that baby boys have a slower heart rate then baby girls. One such myth is having coitus in a certain position or at certain times of the menstrual cycle. Such myths are popular throughout the world. One of the oldest beliefs is that one testicle contains sperm producing only girls, and the other holds sperm that produce only boys. But these are only myths holding no truth in them.