Let’s talk pregnancy myths. There are a lot of days where I think that I have heard it all. Anyone else notice that all of sudden when you become pregnant everyone is suddenly an expert? You begin to receive all the advice from family members to people in the produce section. I often am left scratching my head at what some of my clients are told, or comments that are made to them. Here is the thing, you don’t have to listen, and it is perfectly acceptable to let people know that you are not going to listen, nor are you interested. The worst thing is that people love to tell their horror stories. While birth trauma is a very real and serious thing, all people don’t experience birth trauma. I am saying this as someone who has. The advice that I give to all of my clients is to simply state that you would love to hear about other people’s birth story after you have your baby. Their story does not have to become your story. Plain and simple.
So, let’s go over some of the myths that are out there. I have to be honest, some are down right ridiculous.
Myth 1: Pregnant people should eat twice as much. NO. Just no. If you are beginning your pregnancy at a normal weight, evidence shows that you typically need to increase by about 200 calories. We do not need to eat double. I am not saying that we need to count our calories, however being pregnant someone always comments on what our food choices are, and it really is none of their concern.
Myth 2: Heartrate can determine the sex of the baby. Another no. If it’s high it could mean that your baby is currently active. If it is low they could be resting/sleeping. There are a lot of reasons that baby’s heartrate is registering the way that it is, and babies sex is not one of them.
Myth 3: Sex during pregnancy can hurt the baby. Nope. An anatomy lesson is helpful with this one. The baby is floating in a bag of water. That bag of water is surrounded by thick muscle, (uterus) which surrounds the entire bag, and is actually thicker at the bottom. There’s no way that sex is getting anywhere near that baby.
Myth 4: Eating spicy foods will induce labor. Sorry, another no. There is no evidence based research that points to that this is a thing. I tell people all the time, the baby is going to come when the baby decides it is time.
Myth 5: Coco-butter prevents stretch marks. While coco-butter is a product that people love, there is no evidence that this works. Honestly, this is something that is probably genetic in nature. It’s not worth spending a ton of money on expensive creams, it’s probably not going to work. Again, science. Our skin is prone to all sorts of different conditions at different points in our life. I have spent many years previous to being doula in the cosmetics industry. I have worked with some of the most respected products on the planet. Everything from Creme de La Mer, La Prairie, SKII, Lauder, Aveda. I could go on and on. In EVERY single training that I have every attended when we would ask cosmetic executives that answer was the same. The only thing that truly works is actual cosmetic procedures. That is the truth.
So, my advice. Evidence Based Information. That is what to look for. That is what we should seek. Research. That is what we should trust. While some of the “old wives tales” that are out there are endearing, there is often not a lot of evidence behind it. So, carry on, smile and do what you need to, or what your provider recommends. Smile and enjoy your pregnancy.