'Girl takes away beauty': how pregnant women in the USSR determined the sex of an unborn child
'26.10.2019'
Source: Clever
Today, most women are aware of their child’s affiliation with a particular sex, while still in a position. Most often, such information becomes available through ultrasound. However, in the USSR, such devices began to be widely used only at the end of the 1980's - the beginning of the 1990's, so future mothers used a variety of methods to guess the sex of the baby.
Body shape and condition
Most often, the sex of the baby in the womb was determined by the shape of the abdomen of a pregnant woman, writes Clever. So, “sharp”, that is, a protruding belly sticking forward, portended the appearance of a boy, and a neat, even, round or, on the contrary, blurred belly said that we should expect the birth of a girl.
A good way to learn in advance about the sex of the fetus was the color of the nipples on the female breast. Light nipples promised the birth of a son, and dark - daughters.
By face
Soviet mothers shared among themselves and signs regarding the condition of the skin of the face of the future mother. For example, it was believed that if a woman's face in the position was covered with a rash, red spots or premature wrinkles appeared on it, parents had to choose a name for their daughter. Many explained this phenomenon by the fact that the girl allegedly takes away part of female beauty from her mother.
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If the appearance of the pregnant woman did not change for the worse, then, according to popular beliefs, one should prepare for the birth of a male child.
Gastronomic preferences
Soviet women paid special attention to their gastronomic preferences. Expectant mothers, who absorbed meat products with appetite, were confident that a son would soon be born. In addition, a probable evidence that the boy was in the womb was the tendency of a pregnant woman to eat vegetables, sour fruits and berries (potatoes, lemon, cranberries, tomatoes).
In the USSR, it was believed that mothers of girls relied on all kinds of sweets. During pregnancy, they were fond of dairy and sour-milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese).
By behavior
Often who was born a boy or girl was judged by the behavior of the pregnant woman. So, if a woman suddenly became graceful, and her gait became smooth, people around immediately noticed this and told the future mother that she should expect the birth of a daughter. And, on the contrary, if a woman in a position felt awkward and clumsy, then she knew that this was a sign that a boy would be born.
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Undoubtedly, not all the signs used by Soviet mothers came true. However, they had no choice but to believe in them at least a little.