People are always asking me about Little Fortunes’ accuracy rate in predicting if an expecting mama is having a boy or a girl. I would love to hear from more folks who have played the game and if the final result from Little Fortunes matched the sex of the baby. I have such a small sample size right now that it would be unfair to all of the old wives’ tales to definitively state if they can be trusted or not.
With that said, however, there are some tests and historical perspectives found in Little Fortunes that I personally believe have merit. Please note that I am neither a doctor nor pregnancy expert and any opinions I have on the accuracy of the medical folklore featured in Little Fortunes is based solely on my wife’s previous pregnancies. These are just my thoughts and feelings, and should not be taken as medically sound.
Nature
The game’s activity panel titled “nature” describes a number of historical pregnancy myths that correspond a baby’s sex with growing plants, blossoming flowers, and fertile gardens. One of these “nature” themed beliefs was actually the world’s oldest sex determination test and comes from ancient Egypt. This test had a pregnant person urinate in a sack of barley seeds and a sack of wheat seeds. The result was based on which seeds sprouted first. If the wheat seeds sprout first, then the baby was a boy. If the barley sprouts first, then it’s a girl.
First of all, this is NOT one of the tests that Little Fortune players are asked to carry out. Again, this is NOT one of the 13 tests featured in the game for obvious reasons. Instead, the reference is included on a timeline within the game that allows players to trace the origin of “nature” themed myths through history.
Now that’s out of the way, I can’t say I believe in the whole wheat vs barley aspect of this myth, but it does seem like ancient Egyptians were on the right track in that there is some correlation between pregnancy and the pregnant person’s urine. To me, it doesn’t seem like too much of a jump from the ancient Egyptian test to how today’s pregnancy tests use urine to as an indicator if a person is pregnant or not. Clearly there were some kinks to be worked out with this early test, but the “roots” of including urine as part of the test seems to be quite perceptive.
Blood
One of the tests in Little Fortunes has a player gently hold the wrists of the pregnant person to sense if either the pregnant person’s left or right wrist has a stronger pulse. If the stronger pulse is felt in the right wrist, the game predicts a boy baby. If the stronger pulse seems to be radiating from the left wrist or if there’s no difference between the two wrists, then it is a girl.
Although I can’t say I subscribe to a belief that a single person can have multiple and different pulse rates, I do feel that something can be said for the rate in which the heart pumps blood throughout the body. Maybe not so much for the pregnant person, but I can be convinced that a fast heart rate in the baby indicates a boy and a slow heart rate indicates a girl.
Now I know this goes against all of the mommy blogs out there. 140 beats-per-minute (BPM) is typically used as the determining heart rate, and what you’ll predominantly see out on the internet is that a baby’s heart rate above 140 BPM indicates a girl and a baby’s heart rate below 140 BPM indicates a boy. Knowing from my own experience on how energized baby boys can be, however, I am of the opinion that these indicators should be reversed!
Water
The “water” themed test featured in Little Fortunes has the pregnant person walk around with a wet coin on their toes. If the coin falls off to the right while walking, the baby is a boy. If the coin falls off to the left, it is a girl.
Based on the limited number of people that have shared their game results with me, this test has been accurate 100% of the time. No joke.
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Regardless of the game’s accuracy rate, carrying out these myths and old wives’ is a fun way to celebrate a forthcoming child. If players are playing Little Fortunes after the 20-week ultrasound and the baby’s sex is already known, then it’s fun to see how the myths pan out compared to today’s scientific advancements.