A poll by parenting site Netmums found a third of parents had uploaded scans to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook for other users to guess whether their baby will be a boy or a girl.

 

A further fifth put pictures on parenting sites asking for others' opinions.

 

The fastest-growing scan analysis trend is the 'nub theory', which uses the 12-week scan picture to see what angle the nub - a small lump where the genitals will develop - is pointing.

 

The theory, used by one in ten, says if the baby's nub points up by 30 degrees or more it is a boy.

 

If it is less than 30 degrees it's a girl, with seven out of ten claiming the technique accurately¹ predicted their baby's sex.

 

Meanwhile, six per cent said they tried the 'skull² theory', with a square skull and jaw³ said to be a baby boy and a rounder skull a girl.

 

But seven out of ten expectant mums use the more traditional method to guess the sex of their baby by the shape of their bump.

 

If it is wider it is said to predict a girl, but if the bump protrudes⁴ more it could be a boy.

 

A third analysed their food cravings and half even tried to predict the gender⁵ by how sick they felt.

 

More unusual methods included a twelfth who looked at the size and shape of their breasts, and a fifth who used a Chinese Gender Calculator to guess the sex using conception date and the mother's age.

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