We all know the predictions about the shape of your belly: a high, compact belly means a boy; a low, wide belly means a girl. And if you have an extra-large belly? Then you’ll have an extra-large baby. But are these myths true? Not really, according to experts. In fact, a baby bump can tell you much more about the mother than the baby. Read on to discover what your belly can and can’t tell you.
Your pregnancy belly can reveal something about your fitness.
“The way a woman carries her belly has everything to do with the tone of her abdominal muscles,” says Kecia Gaither , MD, MPH, director of perinatal care at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in New York City. Tight abdominal muscles provide more support and lift for a growing uterus, which is why fit moms-to-be often carry their bellies higher, especially during first pregnancies. “Also, strong abdominal muscles hold the baby closer to the body, which can make the belly appear smaller or less prominent,” says Katie Page , CNM, FACNM, a board-certified midwife in Lynchburg, Virginia. Conversely, women with weaker abdominal muscles tend to carry their bellies lower.
Your belly can’t reveal the baby’s sex .
It’s somehow become a widespread theory: a high, pointed belly supposedly means you’re expecting a boy, while a wide, low belly with weight distributed throughout suggests a girl. But is it true? “Just like every successful old wives’ tale about pregnancy, determining the baby’s sex based on the mother’s belly likely originated with a great-grandmother and has been passed down through the generations,” says Sherry A. Ross , MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Santa Monica Women’s Health. “There’s not a shred of truth to any of these old wives’ tales that I’ve encountered in my 25 years as an obstetrician-gynecologist.”
If you have a cute little bump that’s way up front, like a basketball game, it’s probably because of your height, not your baby’s sex. Taller women have more space between their pubic bone and the top of their belly than shorter expectant mothers, which helps distribute the weight more evenly during pregnancy. “Because they often have a wider waist, taller women stick out less and their bumps are more visible later in life than shorter women,” says Ross. But if you’re petite, chances are you carry your bump low and around your middle. After all, there’s not much other room for the baby to grow.
Another reason for a wide belly: when the baby is lying horizontally (also called a transverse lie). This is a fairly normal position before 26 weeks, but by week 35, the baby is generally
head-down in the correct position for birth.
You can tell how many children you’ve had by your belly.
Your body has a good memory. As soon as all those “I’m pregnant again” hormones start coursing through your body, your muscles and ligaments stretch. And because they’re already stretched, you’ll see your belly sooner and lower. “With each pregnancy, your growing uterus stretches the abdominal muscles further and further,” says Ross.
Your belly doesn’t show how big the baby is.
A large belly doesn’t automatically mean a large baby. “We measure and feel the belly to determine how the baby is growing relative to its gestational age, but the size of the belly has only a limited relationship to the baby’s actual weight,” says Page. “When a doctor estimates the baby’s weight based on an abdominal examination, we’re feeling the actual circumference of the baby’s body in the womb, not the belly itself.”
A large belly is more likely a sign of weaker abdominal muscles or a shorter body size. It can also indicate benign growths in the uterus. Although these usually develop before pregnancy, many women only become aware of the existence of these harmless muscle tumors, called fibroids, after their first ultrasound. “Because pregnancy hormones promote the growth of fibroids, a belly can sometimes be larger than the baby’s gestational age. And the belly can then appear somewhat lumpy,” says Gaither.
source: https://www.thebump.com/a/what-pregnancy-bump-shape-means