Pregnancy Myths And Facts

Pregnancy is a wonderful and life-changing experience. It is a golden period in a woman’s life. Getting pregnant and giving birth to a child has been just like achieving milestones.

From the day people know about your pregnancy, the joy gets doubled as both sides of the family and friends join in a common celebration. Pregnancy is a unique phase with lots of unique challenges. During this wonderful and memorable phase, the expected mother doesn’t really know the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy.

However, the more people celebrate, the more people give advice – what to eat and what not to eat, what to do and what not to do for the delivery of a healthy baby. This advice is seldom correct scientifically, but most of them are based on superstitions, passed from one generation to another.

Here we have explained some of the common pregnancy myths and the facts in detail.

Myth 1 – If a woman is carrying a high, it is a girl and if she is carrying a low, it is a boy.

Fact – According to experts, there is no scientific reason for this assumption. The shape and size of a woman’s abdomen depend on the position of the fetus, posture, muscle’s size and the amount of fat deposited.

Myth 2 – Backache cannot be avoided during pregnancy.

Fact – According to experts, backaches can be minimized by having good posture; keep your spine straight. You may do gentle exercises under a doctor’s supervision.

Myth 3 – Craving for salty food indicates a baby boy while craving for sweet food indicates a baby girl.

Fact – Researches show that there is no link between the cravings and the determination of the sex of a baby.

Myth 4 – an Expected woman should have more ghee or butter during the last month of pregnancy as it helps in contracting the uterus and soften the cervix thus, making the delivery easier.

Fact – Having ghee or butter has its own benefits as it is an integral part of our traditional diet. But actually having a normal delivery depends on the shape of the mother’s pelvis, the size of the fetus and the presentation of the fetus.

Myth 5 – If the pregnancy and delivery of your mother were easy, so will you.

Fact – Hereditary factors do not play any role here in predicting your pregnancy and delivery – how easy or difficult it would be. In fact, it depends on the size and position of the baby, your diet and your lifestyle.

Myth 6 – Watching a lunar eclipse by expected mother may cause cleft lip in your baby.

Fact – There is no scientific reason behind having a cleft lip. It is totally baseless. Eclipse is just a natural geographic phenomenon and it has got nothing to do with having a cleft lip.

Myth 7 – Hanging pictures of beautiful and cute babies on the wall of a pregnant woman’s room may result in cute and beautiful babies.

Fact – Looks, features and complexion of a newborn depends on genetics. Scientifically seeing beautiful pictures of babies every day may make the would-be mother feel good, positive and stress-free. Stress hampers your baby’s growth and development.

Myth 8 – Drinking saffron milk or consumption of oranges by the expected mothers will deliver fair complexion babies.

Fact – The complexion or the color of the skin totally depends on the genetic inheritance. Food does not have any influence on the baby’s complexion.
 

Content Reviewed by – Asian Hospital Medical Editors

 

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