Guessing Baby Gender Through the Ages

 

Throughout human history, people have tried to determine the gender of their baby. This isn’t a new concept brought on by modern technology. In addition to one of the most famous types of gender prediction – the Chinese gender prediction chart – there are many historical examples of how people tried to determine their baby’s gender.

For example, in ancient Greece men believed that they could conceive a son if they were to try to conceive while lying on the right side. We know today that this is false, of course. Yet, there are some theories – such as the Shettles method – that attempt to use sexual position during conception to the best possible advantage for getting either a boy or a girl.

In the 1700s in France, me would tie off their left testicle, in the belief that doing so would help them to conceive a child. The theory was that girls were produced by sperm from the left testicle, and that boys were produced from the right. Thus, preventing sperm from the left testicle would result in a boy.

Natural methods

There are some natural methods of conception that may increase the likelihood of conceiving one gender or the other. For example, sperm that produce boys tend to die off quicker than sperm that produce girls. Having sex during ovulation or the day before might increase your chances of conceiving a boy, while having sex three or four days before ovulation might increase your odds of conceiving a girl.

Fertility medicine

For couples who are getting fertility treatments, there may be other options. Some fertility doctors can “spin” out the sperm, setting aside only those sperm that will produce a specific gender. These methods aren’t 100% accurate, but they are certainly more reliable (and safer) than tying off the man’s left testicle.