Pregnancy
myths
Myth: when you are pregnant you are
eating for two
if only that were true! Technically, while
you are eating for two, the second person rarely exceeds 10 pounds. No need to
double the food intake!
It is normal to be concerned with weight
gain during pregnancy but most of the weight should be gained in the second
half of the pregnancy, not the first. In fact, a women of average weight only
needs about 250 to 300 extra calories a day (starting in the last six months of
her pregnancy). That’s only an extra peanut butter and jelly sandwich a day on
whole grain bread, mind you.
Myth: if I eat more breakfast cereal, I
will have a boy
Grab a bowl and spoon, ladies – there
actually is some truth to this statement!
In a study done in England, scientists
found that a higher percentage of boys were born to women who ate breakfast
cereal each morning prior to becoming pregnant. The reasons behind this finding
continue to be debated, but one idea has to do with crabs. When carbohydrates
such as breakfast cereal are digested, they turn into sugar. Research shows
that a male foetus requires more energy to grow than a female foetus. Hence,
eating more breakfast cereal pre-pregnancy “may” get you the junior you’ve been
hoping for.
Myth: sex will hurt the baby
This is a common concern for parents-to-be:
“is our baby getting bumped on the head during sex?”
As well-endowed as your spouse might be,
this is total myth. This myth is more than likely continued by the males being
overly concerned with the size of their penis and it being eflective on their
masculinity.
Even if a fully erect penis pokes the
cervix, the cervix is closed and thick, so there will be no trauma to the baby
(or mum). And with all due respect to the men folk, your wife probably isn’t
even getting close to hitting the cervix during sex.
There are other reasons to abstain during
pregnancy – if you develop placenta praevia, experience preterm labour,
bleeding, or if you have a weak cervix. Talk with your doctor about any
concerns and if all’s clear, just do it!
Myth: using a cell phone can hurt my
unborn baby
According to the US centers for Disease
Control and prevention (CDC), there’s no link between cell phone use and
problems during pregnancy (such as birth defects or developmental delays with
baby).
And there’s currently on the cell. However, more studies need to be
undertaken in order to determine whether or not excessive cell phone usage will
cause developmental issues after birth.
It’s best to set the phone away from you
and use the speaker option if possible or an ear apparatus like a wireless
Bluetooth headset.
There will be a time in the future when the
baby will have text messaging, but for now let them enjoy the silence.
Myth: the majority of multiple births
come from fertility treatments
False. Although twinning does have a high
occurrence where fertility drugs have been used, the majority of twins and
multiple births occur naturally.
So what factors increase the likelihood
that a women will naturally conceive multiples? These include:
Age: women over 35 are more likely to have multiples than younger
women. The increase of births in women over 35 means more twins worldwide.
Heredity:
A history of multiple births on a women’s side of
the family increases her chances of having a multiple pregnancy.
Number
of pregnancies: having more than one previous
pregnancy, especially a multiple pregnancy, increases the chance of having a
multiple pregnancy.
And here’s an interesting fact: Igbo-Ora in
southwest Nigeria is often reffered to as ‘The Land of Twins.’ Worldwide, the
rate of twins is about 0.5 percent of births but in this part of the world the
rate is more than doubled at 1.2 percent. Residents say it is the diet, but
this phenomenon has baffled fertility experts worldwide.
Myth: more babies deliver on a full moon
A study analyzed the birthdays of more than
4000 babies born in a clinic in France and found the deliveries were equally
distributed throughout the phases of the lunar cycle. Another study done in
Italy evaluated over 8000 spontaneous deliveries and found no relationship
between the number of babies born and lunar cycles.
However, even though this myth has been
shown to be incorrect, there are many full moons where nurses dread working
labour and delivery because of the perceived potential for a large number of
births. So while the moon may pull on the ocean tides and affect the habits or
moods of some individuals, it does not appear to influence the delivery rates
at hospitals.
Myth: clean and healthy teeth mean a
lower chance of preterm birth.
Healthy teeth and gums will indeed reduce
the risks of preterm birth. If you have healthy teeth and receive proper dental
care before and during your pregnancy, you have reason to smile.
Current recommendations are for pregnant
women to continue with proper tooth and gum hygiene while pregnant because bacteria in the gums might
be correlated to preterm labour.
If having a clean set of teeth and gums is
one step in reducing your possibility of
delivering prematurely, then by all means schedule your next dental
appointment. Have your teeth cleaned twice a year, pregnant or not. And don’t
forget to floss at least once a day!
Myth: if I eat spicy foods, my baby will
have colic
Colic is often defined as unexplained
crying for three or more hours a day, three days a week, for more than three
weeks. Yikes. So we know that for the sake of sanity, parents will do whatever
it takes to keep colic at bay. But there’s no need to stay away from your chili
crab – A mum’s diet during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding, has not been
shown to influence the incidence of colic.
Spicy foods can cause discomfort in adults,
but the digestion systems between you and your baby are completely separate.
So, while your baby will get the breakdown products of the foods you eat, he or
she does not consume the whole foods. So even if those chilli peppers causes
you gastric distress, they won’t challenge the baby’s digestion in the same
way.
Myth: being born with a caul foretells
an extraordinary life
The caul (pronounced call) is another organ
of birth rich in legend, lore, and meaning. To be “born in a caul” is to be
born with the head covered by the amnion or within an intact, unruptured
amniotic sac. Napoleon, Lord Byron, and Liberace were all born with a caul.
In medieval times, being born with a caul
was considered good luck, and babies born with it were said to be marked for
greatness. In New Orleans, it is believed that the encauled child can see into
the unknown; the caul is considered a powerful aid that parts the veils between
the real and the spirit worlds.
So, while being born with a caul is
perfectly natural (it doesn’t endanger the mother or baby in any way), it’s a
strange sight – the baby’s face moving beneath the opalescent, wet tissue. We
can understand why this unusual occurrence made people of times past believe
that something supernatural was at work. But again, this is just another richly
told myth.
Myth: eating the placenta can help treat
lung disease, asthma, and postpartum depression
Yep, we’ve heard it all when it comes to
the placenta: eating it; planting it; using it for artwork. And we get why some
people are so fascinated – the placenta is vital to pregnancy, supplying
nutrients and oxygen from Mama to foetus (while transferring waste products
out).
Although still uncommon, eating the
placenta (called placentophagy) is a practice that has been revived recently by
parents seeking to connect with traditional folk beliefs and rituals of birth
from times past. For instance, traditional Chinese medicine has long revered
the placenta as a healing organ with an aura of power and mystique so much so
that in china there is a black market for placentas, which are then served as
special dishes in restaurants.
From a medical standpoint, though, we can’t
recommend eating your baby’s placenta for dinner until more research is on the
table. Still, for those families where this is cultural, placentophagy should
be respected with the risk of the practice discussed doctor prior to the
release of the placenta.
Myth: if I have heartburn during my
pregnancy, my baby will be hairy
Often, myths about childbirth do bear a
nugget of medical truth – sometimes a “truth” that, even today, we don’t fully
understand. While the old wives’ tale about heartburn and hair is definitely a
strange one, medical experts had to admit that a recent study done at johns
Hopkins university found that out of 64 women giving birth, the ones with the
most than average newborn hair.
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