Often the question arises during your pregnancy whether your baby will be a boy or a girl. A Chinese conception calendar is supposed to be a tool to find out exactly that as early as possible. How safe a Chinese conception calendar is and how it works, you can find out here.
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Origin: What Is A Chinese Conception Calendar?
The Chinese conception calendar has its origin already in the 13th century. Based on the so-called peasant calendar, a Chinese scientist developed the Chinese conception calendar. It is believed that the Chinese conception calendar was intended to help the emperor conceive an heir to the throne.
Since then, the Chinese conception calendar has been used not only in China. Since the calendar is based on the different phases of the moon, it is also known as the lunar calendar.
Especially during the time of the one-child policy in China, many couples have used the Chinese conception calendar for their baby planning. Many couples in China prefer to have a boy, as they traditionally care for their parents’ old age. While girls usually move in with their in-laws.
Most parents don’t really care about the sex of the child, the main thing is that it is born healthy and into the world. But one or the other has nevertheless a secretly favored Gender and does not want to leave the decision, boy or girl, completely to chance Left to chance.
To help with family planning, a Chinese conception calendar, long before the child is even conceived, is designed to help determine the sex of your child. If you are already pregnant, but the ultrasound examination of the gynecologist could not yet detect the sex of your child, the Chinese conception calendar can also be of help to you.
Function: How Does A Chinese Conception Calendar Determine The Sex?
The Chinese conception calendar can find out whether your child will be a boy or a girl before it is conceived. It refers to the day of conception as well as the age of the mother at the time of conception. However, this is based on the lunar age of the woman, so you have to add nine months to the actual age.
Example:
- 34 years and 5 months old: moon age is 35 years and 2 months.
Now, to determine the sex, you only need the month in which you want to conceive your baby or if you are already pregnant, the month in which you conceived your baby.
Chinese Conception Calendar: Chinese New Year
In China, the New Year is not welcomed on New Year’s Eve as it is in your country. Instead, the Chinese New Year is based on the new moon. It is celebrated every year between January 21 and February 21.
If your birthday is after February 22, nothing changes for you. Your moon age is calculated as described. If your birthday is before February 22, however, the whole thing becomes a little more complicated. Then you have to find out when exactly the Chinese New Year was celebrated in your year of birth.
If it was after your birthday, everything remains the same. If it was before, you have to add another twelve months to your age to calculate your moon age. In this case, it is a total of 21 months.
Chinese Conception Calendar: Calculate Moon Age
If you want to use the Chinese conception calendar, but are confused by the explanations of how to calculate the moon age, here are two practical examples.
Example 1:
Your birthday is after February 22nd.
In this case, the calculation is relatively simple:
- Date: 02/20/2019
- Birthday: 05/13/2005
- Age: 23 years and 9 months.
- Moon age: 23 years and 9 months PLUS 9 months = 24 years and 6 months.
If you now want to know which gender a Chinese conception calendar predicts for your baby, you still need the month in which you became pregnant:
- Pregnant since: January 2019
Look in the table at 24 and in the January column. So, according to the calendar, you are having a boy.
Example 2
- Your birthday is before February 22.
In this case, calculating your moon age is a bit more complicated because Chinese New Year plays a role:
- Date: 08/20/2019
- Birthday: 01/13/2005
- Age: 23 years and 7 months.
- Chinese New Year in your birth year: February 9, 2005
Since it’s before your birthday, you have to add 12 more months to your current age, for a total of 21 (= nine for lunar age + 12 for the previous Chinese New Year).
- Moon age: 23 years and 7 months PLUS 21 months = 25 years and 4 months.
- Pregnant since: July 2019
Look in the table at the moon age 25 and then at the July column. So in this case a Chinese conception calendar predicts you a girl, but how sure it is you will see after the birth or ultrasound.
Chinese Conception Calendar: Determine Gender
With the help of the table, you can select your moon age and the appropriate conception month. The intersection of the two parameters will tell you the sex of your baby.
| Moon age | Month of conception | |||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| 18 | w | m | w | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | m |
| 19 | m | w | m | w | w | m | m | m | m | m | w | w |
| 20 | w | m | w | m | m | m | m | m | m | w | m | m |
| 21 | m | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w |
| 22 | w | m | m | w | m | w | w | m | w | w | w | w |
| 23 | m | m | w | m | m | w | m | w | m | m | m | w |
| 24 | m | w | m | m | w | m | m | w | w | w | w | w |
| 25 | w | m | m | w | w | m | w | m | w | w | w | w |
| 26 | w | m | m | w | w | m | w | m | w | w | w | w |
| 27 | w | m | w | m | w | w | m | m | m | m | w | w |
| 28 | m | w | m | w | w | w | m | m | m | m | w | w |
| 29 | w | m | w | w | m | m | m | m | m | w | w | w |
| 30 | m | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | m | m |
| 31 | m | w | m | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | m |
| 32 | m | w | m | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | m |
| 33 | w | m | m | m | w | w | w | m | w | w | w | m |
| 34 | m | w | m | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | m | m |
| 35 | m | m | w | m | w | w | w | m | w | w | m | m |
| 36 | w | m | m | w | m | w | w | w | m | m | m | w |
| 37 | m | w | m | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | w | w |
| 38 | w | m | w | m | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | w |
| 39 | m | w | m | m | m | w | w | m | w | m | w | w |
| 40 | w | m | w | m | w | m | m | w | m | w | m | m |
| 41 | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | m | w | m | w | w |
| 42 | w | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | m | w | m | w |
| 43 | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | w | m | m | m | m |
| 44 | m | m | w | m | m | m | w | m | w | m | w | w |
| 45 | w | m | m | w | w | w | m | w | m | w | m | w |
How Reliable Is A Chinese Conception Calendar?
According to scientific studies, the prediction of baby sex cannot be reliable without genetic application.
However, the probability of the Chinese conception calendar determined from researches is surprisingly high. For example, research in North America has shown that this conception calendar is actually said to be 85 percent accurate.
In another study, Dr. Eduardo Villamor of the University of Michigan, together with colleagues from Boston and Sweden, checked 2.8 million births between 1973 and 2006 using the Chinese conception calendar. The hit rate of the calendar was about 50%. The Chinese conception calendar does not achieve a higher probability than a coin toss.
You should be aware that this method is more gimmick than science. Don’t take it too seriously with the reliability of being able to plan the right sex or to find out early. But it is fun anyway – maybe the result is right for you.
Even if the Chinese conception calendar predicts a boy or a girl, you should wait for the ultrasound before you start buying cute baby clothes.
Sources
https://www.familie.de/schwangerschaft/chinesischer-empfaengniskalender/
https://www.gofeminin.de/kinderwunsch/geschlecht-baby-vorhersagen-s1574337.html
https://www.babyclub.de/magazin/schwangerschaft/chinesischer-empfaengniskalender.html
