What is the ring test for pregnancy

Different cultures have their traditional methods for predicting an unborn child’s gender. The ring gender test is one such sex-prediction game that requires just a ring and a string.

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How To Do The Ring Gender Test?
Interpreting the results
How Accurate Is The Ring Test For Sex Prediction?
Are There Any Studies On Ring Test For Sex Prediction?
Ring On A String: The Safe Sex Prediction Test

Read on to know how to conduct this test and interpret the results. However, note that this technique is not scientifically proven, and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

How To Do The Ring Gender Test?

You may try the wedding ring test at your baby shower or in private with your family.

Tie your wedding ring to a piece of thread.
Hold the thread over your belly as you lie on the bed.
You may also ask your partner to dangle it over your belly.
Allow the string to move without any external interference.

There are also a few alternative ways to do the ring on a string test. Those variations include:

Use a strand of hair in place of thread.
Use a needle in place of a wedding ring.
Hold the ring over the wrist instead of the belly.
Place the threaded ring in your palm for some time, and then raise the string so that it swings over the palm.
Hold the string in front of the belly while you are standing.

You may also use an engagement ring or promise ring instead of a wedding ring.

Interpreting the results

Here is how to interpret the result of this pregnancy test.

If the ring moves in a circle, you are said to be carrying a girl.
If it moves to and fro, you are said to be having a boy.

How Accurate Is The Ring Test For Sex Prediction?

If you are looking for scientifically proven sex predictors, the ring test is not one of them. It is part of folklore, and how it works is not known.

Practically speaking, this test might be influenced by the subconscious working of your mind and ideomotor movements. The ideomotor movements are subtle muscle movements that occur without any conscious effort. Dr William B. Carpenter introduced the phrase “ideomotor action,” which means muscle movements responding to outside influences (1).

Are There Any Studies On Ring Test For Sex Prediction?

A study performed by Johns Hopkins of Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1999 found that amongst the 104 women who used any of the sex prediction methods such as the ring gender test, only 55% guessed it right, suggesting that using these methods is similar to taking a wild guess (2).

Ring On A String: The Safe Sex Prediction Test

Safety is of utmost importance during pregnancy. Eagerness to know the sex of the baby can sometimes lead to unwise decisions. However, the string test is safe and simple, although its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

A better option is an ultrasound scan that is usually performed around 18th to 22nd week, as a part of regular prenatal check-ups, could help determine the baby’s sex (3). However, your doctor will not tell you about the sex of your baby if prenatal sex determination is illegal in your country.

The ring gender test is one of the traditional methods of predicting the sex of the unborn fetus by using a thread and a ring. Although the use of such folklores of sex prediction has been around for a long time, not many scientific studies prove the efficiency of these methods. Experts suggest that performing such tests is almost equal to taking a wild guess about the baby’s gender. However, they can be performed for fun. Therefore, it is advisable to consult the doctor for the correct result.

Disclaimer: Sex-prediction methods are only for fun and do not replace medical examinations. MomJunction believes in gender equality; we do not support or encourage sex determination nor entertain any queries on finding the sex of the baby.

Did you try to predict the sex of your baby? Did any of the tests work? Let us know in the comments section below.

References:

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy.

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Dr. Umera Zakiahmed Saiyed is a homoeopathic consultant and runs her own clinic Noor. She pursued her BHMS from Yerela Medical College in Kharghar, Mumbai and worked as an assistant doctor under a gynaecologist in Surat, Gujarat. With more than 5 years of experience in gyneacpcods, assisting many labor and caesarean deliveries, she holds expertise in cases related to infertility,... more

If you simply can't wait for a sonogram to find out whether you are having a boy or a girl, there are alternative ways to guess at the baby's sex. The wedding ring gender test is an old method for predicting the sex of a developing baby using a wedding ring and a string. This ring test over the belly is completely safe and is one of the most common types of gender prediction tests.

If you are pregnant, the ring test can be a fun option to guess the baby's gender. This is sometimes called the pendulum gender test. The simple test can be completed in nearly any setting. Just follow a few steps to see whether the ring indicates a boy or girl in your future. Steps for how to do the ring test are as follows:

Attach the mom-to-be's wedding ring to a thread.
Have the mom lie on her back.
Dangle the thread over the expectant mother's belly.
Allow the string to move without interfering with the motion.

There are other variations you can try with this test. For example:

Use a strand of hair instead of thread.
Allow the ring to dangle over the expectant mother's wrist instead of her belly.
Place the threaded ring in the palm of the mom's hand for a moment and then lift the string and allow it to dangle over her palm.
Dangle the string in front of the mother's belly while she is standing.

Interpreting the result from the test is very easy, especially compared to other methods that use chemicals and changing colors to determine the baby's sex.

If the ring moves in a back-and-forth, pendulum-style motion, the test indicates that the baby is a boy.
If the ring moves in a circular motion, the test indicates that the baby is a girl.

Many women perform this gender prediction test with their significant other, and it can be done at home at any time. Others may find they want everyone to share the experience and do the test with their friends at a girls' night out in celebration of the upcoming birth. Some women even enjoy having their baby shower guests guess what the baby's sex will be before performing the test at the gathering.

There is no scientific evidence which supports being able to determine a baby's gender using the wedding ring on a string method. Correct results are usually just luck, so the test is more for fun than an actual reading of your child's gender. As an example, an informal poll posted at BabyCenter.com showed the ring test was only accurate for about 55 out of the 84 people who responded. There are much more accurate ways to determine your baby's gender, including an ultrasound, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling or, most recently, through a DNA test.

The power of suggestion can lead to the ideomotor effect which occurs when an individual's muscle movements are subconsciously influenced by certain expectations, and this can affect the outcome of the gender test. For example, if the person conducting the test expects the baby to be a boy, or someone else suggests it will be, the person performing the test automatically makes the string swing like a pendulum without being aware of it. Since the subtle movement happens without conscious effort, it occurs involuntarily. William B. Carpenter actually coined the phrase "ideomotor action" to describe this type of muscle movement.

Other factors may influence the results of your test. In relationship to the poll results published at BabyCenter.com, community members discussed accuracy challenges due to shaky hands, differences in results according to who is holding the string, and the proximity of the string to the belly. This shows that practically any variable can influence the outcome of the test.

Unfortunately, there appears to be no documentation about when people began using the ring method, but it certainly predates modern technology which makes it simple to determine gender by using ultrasounds or blood tests. The wedding ring method is simply one of many old wives' tales which are rooted in superstition and used to help determine gender before a baby was born.

Safety is crucial when it comes to pregnancy, and some of the other home-testing methods, like the Drano test, are dangerous and inaccurate. In comparison, the wedding ring test is a nice option to consider. The method is simple, safe, and can be a fun bonding experience even if the accuracy rate is about equal to a good guess.

One of the fun parts of being pregnant is finding out the sex of the baby. This test may be an old wives' tale, but it might hold you over until you find out for certain what lies beneath your baby bump. Just don't run out and buy any gender-specific baby items based on your results.