Egyptian study reveals how Pharaoh women predicted baby’s gender

In ancient Egypt, 5,000 years ago, women knew the means for the sexual enrichment and speeding up the delivery process; the wife used to sit on a mixture of oil vapor, incense, dates and beer.

They also underwent a test to determine the gender of the fetus. How was that?

According to a historical study by the Women’s Studies and Rights Center of the Republican Party in the Luxor governorate in Upper Egypt, if the wife vomited after this procedure, it was evidence that she would get pregnant soon, if not then this indicated that she was unable to get pregnant.

The study, prepared by the center’s director, Najwa al-Baroun, showed that in the times of the pharaoh, women knew about contraception as well. The prescriptions for contraception and family planning consisted of Natron salt, crocodile ruth, yoghurt, and plant fiber.

Najwa al-Baroun said that newly married women were subjected to an early pregnancy test to determine the gender of fetus – whether male or female - by pouring the women’s urine on grains of wheat and barley. If the barley grew first, this means that the baby would be male, and if the wheat grew first, then it would be a female.