How to Get a Certain Child Gender on Sims 3

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 3, 2021 Approved

There is a sneaky way to aim for a particular gender when your Sims 3 character is pregnant. Oddly enough, it involves a trip to the grocery store. There is no way to guarantee the result 100% of the time, but this works in most cases.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Encouraging a Girl or Boy

1
Start early. Pregnancy only lasts 72 Sim hours in The Sims 3. If you hear music while the Sims are trying to conceive a baby, they succeeded.^{[1]
X
Research source} You can also tell if your female Sim is pregnant if you press "Go Here" and you have no options like "Run" or "Walk."
2
Consider turning off Story Progression. Although unconfirmed, there's a rumor that Story Progression tries to keep your town's gender ratio balanced. In other words, if your town has more women than men, the game might force the next baby to be male. It's worth turning this off in the Game Options menu, just in case.

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3
Eat at least three apples to conceive a boy. According to the Prima strategy guide, eating three apples during pregnancy makes it very likely that the baby will be a boy. This does not guarantee it completely, but it's the closest you can get without downloading a mod.
- To be extra safe, some people recommend three apples each trimester (first, second, and third day of pregnancy).^{[2]
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  Research source} However, others have said that more than three won't increase your chances.
4
Eat watermelons for a girl. This works the same way in the other direction. Have the pregnant Sim eat at least three watermelons to make the chance of conceiving a girl very likely.
- Ever since an early patch (1.3), the fruit will only work when raw. Eating cooked foods that contain apple or watermelon has no effect on the baby's gender.^{[3]
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  Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Trying for Boy-Girl Twins

1
Increase the odds of twins. All Sim pregnancies have a small chance of twins. You can't guarantee it, but taking these steps makes a multiple birth much more likely:^{[4]
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Research source}
- Get the Fertility Treatment lifetime reward for one or both parents (getting it for both is likely to result in triplets).
- During pregnancy, have the mother read pregnancy books, watch KidZone TV, and listen to children's music. You may do all three at the same time.
- If you have the Showtime expansion, wish for a large family with a genie, or drink a procreation elixir.^{[5]
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  Research source}
2
Ask a medical expert to identify the gender. Find a Sim that's at least level 5 in the Medical career track (Resident or higher).^{[6]
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Research source} Have the pregnant Sim have a friendly conversation with this doctor and ask to determine the gender of the baby. You will get a popup saying that you are expecting a boy or a girl. This prediction is always accurate — but only for one baby.
- The pregnant Sim needs to be visibly pregnant before this option appears.
3
Eat fruit to change the gender of the other baby. As described above, eat watermelons for a girl or apples for a boy. If you're lucky and end up with twins (or triplets), this increases the chance of getting the gender you want for the second child.
- For example, if the doctor predicts a boy, eat melons to increase the odds of a girl. One baby will be guaranteed to be a boy, but if he has a twin, there's a high chance it will be a girl.

Community Q&A

Question

On Sims 3, is it possible for two girls to have a baby?

Community Answer

Not by default, although mods exist to allow this (such as NRaas Woohooer's option to allow same-sex Try For Baby). Another alternative is instead adopting a child.
Question

Is it possible for a female Sim to have triplets?

Community Answer

Yes, it is. Purchase the fertility treatment (it's a lifetime reward) for your couple and let the mother watch Kidz Zone on TV.
Question

How do I stop the baby from glitching?

Community Answer

If the baby is glitching it's probably something to do with the game that you physically modified, like downloading CC or a mod. I've tried removing CC from the game and that usually works.