How would Europeans in the 1700s know pre-natally whether a baby was a boy or a girl?

by [deleted]

Hello, my esteemed historians!

I watched 'A Royal Affair' the other night. In one scene, the Queen of Denmark (married to Christian VII), whose pregnancy was still at a barely visible stage, mentioned that the baby was a girl. It piqued my curiosity, and inspired me to ask the question specified in the title: How would Europeans in the 1700s know pre-natally whether a baby was a boy or a girl?

I would deeply appreciate it if any one of you can educate me on this subject -- thank you warmly in advance! :-)

totesmadoge

There are a whole host of wives' tales centered around figuring out the sex of a baby before it's born (how one is carrying [high or low], food cravings, 'intuition', the way the baby moves, etc. etc.). Scientifically, it's all just guessing, with a 50% chance of being right. The only way to know the sex of a baby is a sonogram.