The moment you announce your pregnancy, you are surrounded by solicited/unsolicited advices, stories, tips from friends and relatives. At the receiving end, you are often left confused in the ocean of information. You may find it difficult to filter the genuine ones from the old wives tales. Listed below are some of the myths busted with the actual facts.
1. Pregnant women get that distinct glow
During pregnancy, there is an increased supply of blood and oil secretions in your body. This happens due to the extra nutrition that a woman gets through her diet and other nutritional supplements. There is also a surge of hormonal changes in the woman’s body to cope up with the new change. It helps to improve the overall health of a woman during pregnancy. This is also one of the reasons for the skin to appear supple and shiny. Again, this does not happen with all the pregnant women. Some are left with dry itchy skin, thus giving a weak exhausted look.
2. Craving for sour and sweet
Pregnant women develop cravings for food as well as non-food items. Strength of cravings depends and varies from one woman to another. It varies for each pregnancy and sometimes changes every week. Food cravings are simply because of the astronomical hormonal changes occurring in a woman’s body and the need for increased calories during pregnancy. The craving for non-food items is due to lack of nutritional substances such as iron. Due to this, a pregnant woman crave for things as mud, chalk, toothpaste, paint chips etc. Most of the cravings are quite harmless and you should not worry as long as you follow your doctor’s guidelines with respect to your diet and nutrition.
3. Morning sickness happens only in the mornings
This is a pregnancy sickness which affects most of the pregnant women. Increasing estrogen, progesterone levels, low blood sugar, low blood pressure are some of the reasons that cause nausea, queasiness on empty stomach and dizziness. However, despite its name, this can occur at any time of the day. It is sometimes present during the early hours of the day and gradually decreases as the day progresses. This happens when the stomach is empty or when the acids in the stomach are churning.
4. Avoid computer, microwave, cell-phone radiation during pregnancy
It is good to avoid unnecessary radiation during pregnancy. However, you should not avoid x-rays when it is required since it helps in tracking the growth of your baby. The amount of radiation that you and your baby will be exposed with x-ray procedure is quite minimal. Studies suggest that there is no link between x-ray radiation and pregnancy problems. You will increase your risk for pregnancy problems only when you exceed the limit of computer, cell phone and microwave usage during pregnancy.
5. Gender prediction
People around you have a good time guessing the sex of your baby, looking at the way you “carry”, or the way you look during pregnancy. A pregnant woman can be carrying high or low because of the baby’s size and position in the womb. Gender can be predicted only through medical technology, such as ultrasound.
6. Exercising will harm the baby
It is important that you keep yourself physically active as much as possible during pregnancy. This helps to control your weight. Follow the advice of your doctor. In fact, you will feel better with mild exercises which will help you beat the stress, tiredness, constipation and back aches. US Department of Health and Human Services recommend that 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week is considered safe for a pregnant woman.
7. Eat for two
Your body does require extra nutrition since the metabolic rate of the body increases during pregnancy. Your appetite will be larger than normal during pregnancy. However, do not over stuff unnecessarily since it will risk your chances of weight gain and will be harder for you to lose after delivery. Quality matters over quantity. Eat nutritious food in right portions.
8. Medicine free child birth is the best
Even though natural child birth is always the best, it is not always possible since each mom comes with a different condition. There are various risk conditions during child birth which may require the use of medicine, such as labor induction and c-section. There is no right or wrong way in delivering a baby as long as both mom and the baby are healthy.
9. Use lotions to prevent stretch marks
Though lotion will soothe your stretched skin, it will not keep your stretch marks away. Few women have flexible skin which stretches without causing damage to the skin during pregnancy, while others get visible stretch marks. Physical activity and good amount of skin moisturizer helps the skin from scarring.
10. Spicy food brings on labor
Spicy food does cause heartburn and uneasiness in pregnant women; however, there is little evidence to show that it can make a woman go into labor. Eating spicy food cannot induce labor.
